The Dark Side of Light
by Nostalgicmiss
Summary: Eclipse through Alice's Eyes. Alice's soon-to-be-sister and best friend is finally joining the family in every way, what on earth could get in the way?
1. Chapter 1 Back to Normal

_All Things in the Twilight universe belong to the Talented Stephenie Meyer. :)_

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**Chapter 1 - Back to Normal**

"Ha," I laughed loudly. Jasper and I were returning from hunting. He had his arm around my waist and we were walking slowly towards the house, purposely taking our time so we could be alone a little longer. We spent a lot of our time in each others company. it was almost as though I couldn't get enough of him.

Jasper looked at me rasing his eyebrows.

'Sorry," I knew he hated it when I would react to a vision without sharing it with him. "Charlie, has decided to cook for Bella, he's releasing her bonds, she's free."

Jasper smiled and tipped his head to the side. "Did you say Charlie's cooking?"

I laughed again, "I would pay to see that!" I giggled and then sighed. "Too late now though."

Bella had been under house arrest since we returned from Italy. Of course her sentence had been almost quadrupled when her former best friend, and werewolf, Jacob Black had betrayed her trust and shown up at her house with the motorcycle she had purchased during her daredevil months. Being the police chief of Forks, Charlie hadn't been too happy about the revelation, but what parent would be. For humans, motorcycles were dangerous, they didn't possess the reflex skills to ride them adequately which put them at a bigger risk. And with Bella, well, lets just say she's coordinationally challenged, the girl was plain clumsy. I'd never seen anyone so liable to trip over their own feet. To imagine her on a motorcycle made me cringe. She constantly tried to assure me that over the months she had become quite a skilled rider, but all I could see were the possibilities.

Edward had a small time frame in which he was allowed to visit Bella whilst she was at home, largely due to the fact that Charlie simply didn't like him, because he broke Bella's heart when he left. He used the grounding as an excuse to keep him away as much as possible. Edward really didn't deserve this kind of treatment because he was ultimately trying to do the right thing. This was a hard topic to broach with Charlie so we didn't push our luck. Us being Bella and I, Edward thought he deserved it. He was still blaming himself for everything that had happened. So he suffered in silence, although the time in which he was kept away from her, Edward moped in his room, he was practically counting the minutes until he could visit her again, but he tried to hide that from us. He was thankful we were still in high school because he could spend all of his time there with her. He also snuck into her room and spent the night there, that was practically an every night thing, one that the chief was unaware of.

Lately though, he had been trying to convince her to go through college. Bella had become impatient with him about this. It seemed it was a hard sell because she had her heart set on being changing into a vampire after graduation. Something Edward still hadn't accepted yet. He understood that she wanted it, and that she would inevitably get her own way, but he wanted her to have more time, he wanted her to live.

Bella didn't want more time, Edward was perpetually seventeen, she was eighteen, she was against getting any older than him. It was a constant disagreement between them. One that I was beginning to get tired of hearing, I was with Bella on her decision.

I was free to come and go at the Swan's, I had Charlie wrapped around my little finger. I also enjoyed his company, he was a sweet guy and cared about Bella, probably more than she would ever realize. He didn't speak much, but when he did it was usually something intelligent or sports related. I would occasionally sit and watch the game with him, this would always surprise him, especially when I was the one jumping out of my seat and screaming at the referee. I usually did this when Bella and Edward wanted to spend a quiet moment alone without Charlie's ever watchful eyes and ears.

The rest of the family hadn't seen much of Bella since her incarceration. Emmett, missed his new sister, he enjoyed Bella and her clumsiness, he found her highly entertaining. Rosalie found this highly distasteful. She wasn't close to Bella, in fact, you really couldn't call them friends at all, but Rosalie was making an effort to be nicer. Mostly caused by the insatiable guilt she felt about almost getting Edward, Bella and I killed at the hands of the Volturi.

Then there was Carlisle and Esme. Esme was the most maternal and compassionate person I knew, she missed Bella terribly. The two of them often spoke on the phone, something Esme insisted on, something I felt guilty about. Since our trip to Mississippi, anytime someone left the house for more than three days, she insisted they call her every other day. Of course this was completely my fault because I was the one who had promised to call her everyday I was gone, and then followed through on it.

Jasper just seemed happy to have me to himself most of the time. We were left alone more often than not, he was perfectly happy about that. I hadn't been separated from him for more than a couple of hours since I returned from Volterra. It's not like I was complaining either, his arms were where I was the happiest. Things between us had become very real. The contentment he made me feel was always so astonishing, I had been so luck to find him. He was my first real memory, when I awoke as a newborn, I saw him in a vision. That was it, I never needed anything other than him. Of course, he still complained bitterly that I had to leave him to go to school, but school was something I didn't really mind that much anymore.

At school, things were slightly different, but in this case it was a good thing. We seemed to have acquired more friends in our small group. Angela, one of Bella's first friends in Forks, sat next to me during lunch. She was very sweet and even seemed comfortable around us now. It had been a little awkward at first but now, she and her boyfriend, Ben, treated us just the same as they treated Bella. They included us in conversations and laughed with us. It was strangely comforting and I enjoyed being part of a group of people consisting of members other than my family. Of course I would develop human friendships when I was so close to graduating. It seemed typical, but it gave me hope for the next time we had to repeat high school.

Jasper and I approached the house and climbed up the stairs to the front porch. We could hear the voices of Carlisle and Esme, and the quiet mumbling from the TV. I knew exactly what this was pertaining to, I had been trying to get any kind of vision about it for weeks. A suspicious killing spree was seemingly going on in Seattle, we knew that it had to be the work of at least one newborn, but I could see nothing in regards to it. Not who created it, let alone why. It was making us nervous, the last thing we needed was for the Volturi to step in, that was a little too close to home. The whole family had be theorizing.

Carlisle looked away from the TV briefly as we walked in the door. He nodded and let his attention wander back towards the screen. I made my way into the living room and sat on one of the love seats. Jasper sat next to me and I curled up into his side.

"Anything new?" Jasper asked.

Carlisle shook his head. "No, they are still blaming it on gang activity. I imagine you have to know about the existence of vampires to put together the connection."

"Maybe we should take a trip down there, see if we can find anything?" Jasper suggested as his hand lightly traced up and down my arm subconsciously.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't want to risk it, Alice hasn't seen any decision's being made. Maybe this will be the end of it."

"I'm sorry," I whispered helplessly. "I feel useless, I wish I could see something."

"Alice, stop apologizing. This could be something random." Carlisle said trying to comfort me.

It had been frustrating for the last couple of weeks. My head was swimming as I checked on every little decision made by the Volturi, trying to keep Bella from making it to see her werewolf friend and watching for Victoria's return. My head was constantly swimming. Occasionally I would block them so I could get some peace.

Jasper very often felt my frustration and would try and clam me down. It never worked, I would end up searching for decisions made about decisions, until I would collapse on the bed with my hands over my face, full of frustration.

My only real escape was shopping, Rosalie was the only person who would attempt to go with me, mainly because she was the only one who could keep up. Unfortunately, she was growing bored, so I was looking forward to getting Bella back so I could have someone new to accompany me.

I excused myself and headed towards my room, listening to the news as much as we had lately, meant there really was nothing new to watch. We had all of the information. Jasper had even attempted to hack into the Seattle PD server, but they were as tight as a fortress. Apparently, according to Jasper, they had updated their firewalls and then he went into techno-babble mode and I couldn't follow him for the life of me. Carlisle would sit and nod like he knew every detail of what Jasper was saying. I happened to know that Carlisle, who was also very skilled on a computer, had no idea of the inner workings, especially when it came to things like servers and CPU's.

Jasper's talent with computers had always amazed me, as soon as talk of a computer came about all those years ago Jasper had shown an interest. That's when I had invested in Apple Macintosh, seems like it had been a good idea, it was one of our bigger investments.

I flopped down onto the bed and crawled into the middle of it. I pulled a pillow down and curled up to it. It felt nice to be doing nothing. My head was unusually clear. I wasn't quite sure why, it was a rare thing these days but I enjoyed it while it lasted.

The bedroom door opened quietly and Jasper stepped into the room. I smiled at him from the comfort of the bed and patted the space next to me. He slid onto the bed and his head came to rest on my stomach, he rolled onto his side to look at me. I ran my hands lightly through his hair. There was no need for words. We were silently communicating. It was peaceful and very relaxing. Jasper would occasionally hum some music from one of his favorite CD's but other than that, we lay quietly just looking at one another.

We must have been laid like that for hours because when I finally looked at the clock I realized that I had an hour before I had to leave for school. Edward would be home any second nagging me. I sighed and rolled from the bed. Jasper groaned at me.

I smiled and headed toward the bathroom.

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**A/N: Okay, so it's a short Chapter but I wanted to do the whole catch up thing . . . I promise longer chapters now.**

**I will have a new chapter up for you tomorrow :)**

**YOU GUYS ROCK!**


	2. Chapter 2 Victoria

_**The twilight universe belongs to the awesome Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 2 - Victoria**

I got in the Volvo silently, Edward looked more cheerful than he had in days. I knew that it was all due to Bella no longer being grounded, and I couldn't blame him, I knew that Charlie's hostility had been hard on him. It seemed that when Charlie saw Edward, he immediately began to think about how Bella had been when we'd left. Although he had convinced himself that this was his penance, it was still uncomfortable for him. he needed some time away from it.

I smiled at him cheerfully. "Good news about Bella." I commented.

He grinned at me. "Of course you knew."

"I haven't lost my talent completely." I laughed.

With Edward's driving we arrived at Bella's house quickly. He pulled up into the empty driveway and waited.

"Have you seen anything regarding Seattle?" he asked quietly. He was just as upset about this as the rest of the family, if not more. i knew that his first concern was Bella, if the Volturi were to act upon this they would surely realize how close to us they were in Seattle. which would mean a visit from them. Something none of us wanted.

"No, not a thing," I sighed, "it's almost as if someone is deliberately avoiding me."

"You're sure it's not Victoria or the Volturi?" He asked. We'd been over this many times.

"Sure on both. Victoria seems to be flying under the radar, and the Volturi, well, they just sent someone fishing." I cringed, the memory of their last fishing expedition was something I would rather not remember. It had left a bad taste in my mouth, and it had scarred poor Bella to see that.

Edward nodded as Bella came out of the front door, I smiled at her and pushed the door open.

"Morning, Bella."

"Morning, Alice."

I climbed in the back and pulled my legs under me. Bella slid into the front and pulled the door closed. She leaned over and gave Edward a quick kiss.

"How's Jasper?" she asked turning in her seat slightly as Edward backed the car out of the drive. "It feels like such a long since I've seen him, since I've seen anyone."

"He's bored while I'm at school," I offered laughing, "but other than that he's doing well. He's still studying philosophy at Cornell."

Bella smiled and picked up Edward's hand. The rest of the ride to school was quiet but the atmosphere was relaxed, Bella obviously happy with her new freedom seemed more at ease. For a while she had taken Jacob's betrayal hard. Today, she seemed almost vivacious. It was a good change. It was also highly infectious, especially when we arrived at school.

The seniors were all buzzing around happily, we were closing in on graduation and it seemed like a majority of the students couldn't wait to get out of here. There chatter could be heard before we'd even gotten out of the car.

Most of it was about prom, that was coming up this weekend, I knew that we weren't going, Edward had strict instructions from Bella to not even try it. I'd tried everything I could to convince her otherwise, but she was steadfast on the subject. So I gave up.

As a typical school day in Forks, the morning passed without incident, classes were as they always seemed to be, the same curriculum over and over. I couldn't complain I had highly enjoyed it the first time around, but by the fourth and fifth, it had become a little tedious. I headed to lunch following the crowd as they moved like a herd. When I finally got to the table I dropped in my seat and looked at the unappetizing food in front of me. I had become quite talented at arranging my food so it looked as though I'd eaten a majority of it.

Angela looked distracted, but I smiled at her and she returned my smile happily. She really was a genuinely nice person. I asked Edward what she thought of us, after she began frequenting our side of the table with Ben, her boyfriend. His reply had not been what I had expected, which was something I liked about her. She had been thinking about her school work, and barely thought about us at all. In fact, it seemed the only time Edward had ever picked up our names in her head, was when she was wondering why she hadn't spoken to us sooner.

"Everything okay?" I asked as I began to move the food around in front of me.

"Yeah, thanks." She said, I noticed her hair was pulled up roughly and her eyes looked worried. I looked up to see Bella and Edward taking their seats. Angela sighed beside me, Something was bothering her.

"Have you sent your announcements yet?" Angela asked us collectively. i really didn't pay attention, I was too busy looking at Bella's clothes, I hadn't noticed this morning. She was wearing Jeans-and-a-t-shirt. I frowned at her. She never really wore the things I bought for her. Well, perhaps now she was free I could take her to the mall and she can pick out something a little more exciting. Maybe we could get her hair trimmed too, just an inch off the bottom, I know how Edward likes it long.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Bella's answer. 'No," she said over me. "There's no point, really. Renee knows when I'm graduating. Who else is there?"

"How about you, Alice?" Angela asked me.

I smiled in response, "All done."

"Lucky you." Angela sighed, and I realized this had been what was bothering her. "My mother has a thousand cousins and she expects me to hand-address one to everybody. I'm going to get carpal tunnel. I can't put it off any longer and I'm just dreading it."

"I'll help you," Bella said, "If you don't mind my awful handwriting."

I pushed my food around my plate some more and listened to the conversation around me.

"That's so nice of you. I'll come over any time you want." Angela's voice was full of appreciation.

"Actually, I'd rather go to your house if that's okay—I'm sick of mine. Charlie un-grounded me last night." Bella grinned. I smiled back.

"Really?" Angela asked. "I thought you said you were in for life."

"I'm more surprised than you are. I was sure I would at least have finished high school before he set me free."

"Well, this is great, Bella! We'll have to go out and celebrate."

"You have no idea how good that sounds."

"What should we do?" I asked considering the possibilities. I could think of a few. Shopping in Paris, I said I would take her shopping.

"Whatever you're thinking, Alice, I doubt I'm _that_ free." Bella grinned at me.

"Free is free, right?" I insisted, I knew it wouldn't be a problem getting Charlie to agree.

"I'm sure I still have boundaries—like the continental U.S., for example."

I could hear Ben and Angela laughing. I knew I must look disappointed because she gave me a small smile.

"So what are we doing tonight?" I asked, it was her first night of freedom. We had to celebrate.

"Nothing. Look, let's give it a couple of days to make sure he wasn't joking. It's a school night anyway."

"We'll celebrate this weekend, then." I said, once again thinking of the possibilities.

"Sure," she said, I knew she was just appeasing me, but I would take it. I could always hold it against her later.

"Hmm, so where could we go?" Angela asked me, and that was it. Our conversation was planning the weekend, seeing as Bella was still a little dubious we didn't set anything in stone. I knew better than that, but it was fun to consider our options. No matter how limited we were in Forks. We always had options in Port Angeles and Hoquiam. Nothing compared to the larger cities, but i was sure it could be entertaining nonetheless.

We were talking about going bowling when the vision hit me like a ton of bricks. It was stronger than most, and it was Victoria. This was the first I'd seen of Victoria since Edward had asked me what direction she was headed before tracking her. She seemed to be quite elusive, but this was quite strong and took over my conscious mind. She was heading towards Forks, she was going to try and get to Bella. That's all she was thinking about so I wasn't sure exactly where she would go, or what she would do. But I knew _where_ she would come in. I knew exactly where to intercept her.

Edward's laugh pulled my conscience back to the now, I felt the kick under the table from Edward and I jumped back into reality. All remnants of the vision were gone.

"Is it naptime already, Alice?"Edward laughed, but his eyes told me to pull it together. I shot a look at Bella who was watching me intently.

"Sorry, I was daydreaming, I guess." I said with a sigh, trying to emphasize my fabrication.

"Daydreaming's better than facing two more hours of school," Ben said. I knew then that it was an acceptable excuse, I was more worried about Bella. I would have to avoid her until questions until Edward had decided whether or not to tell her.

I jumped back into the conversation about Saturday's activities with more exuberance, I didn't want Bella to be suspicious but I could tell by the look on her face that she was concerned. I stole a glance at Edward.

'_Did you see it?_' I asked in my head. Edward looked up and then down. '_Good, Bella looks concerned, I don't know what you want to tell her. But I can see her trying to ask you'_

I looked back at Angela who was suggesting that we should go and see a movie. I nodded happily.

The rest of the school day skated past like any other, it seemed graduation would be here sooner than any of us had anticipated. I would miss my human friends but I was looking forward to spending more time with Jasper. I stopped briefly to say goodbye to Angela as I headed to the car. Bella and Edward weren't there yet so I climbed into the back.

I saw Edward and Bella coming towards me holding hands, I smiled, but I realized that Edward was talking to Mike Newton. This was new, Bella looked just as confused.

"I know a few things — I could take a look, if you like." Edward offered helpfully, I could hear him clearly. "Just let me drop Alice and Bella at home."

Both Bella and Mike looked astonished at the comment and I giggled to myself quietly, of course Edward needed more time than most to fabricate something, he had trouble lying to Bella. If he was trying to be inconspicuous, he was failing miserably. I could tell by just looking at Bella that she wasn't buying it.

"Er . . . thanks," Mike mumbled, "But I have to get to work. Maybe some other time."

"Absolutely."

"See ya." Mike said breaking away from them and them climbing into his car, he still looked as though he had imagined the whole scene.

"What was _that_ about?" Bella asked as Edward held the door open for her.

"Just being helpful." Edward said slipping in the other side and pulling out of the parking spot.

"You're really not _that_ good of a mechanic, Edward. Maybe you should have Rosalie take a look at it tonight, just so you look good if Mike decides to let you help, you know. Not that it wouldn't be fun to watch his face if _Rosalie_ showed up to help. But since Rosalie is supposed to be across the country attending college, I guess that's not the best idea. Too bad. Though I suppose, for Mike's car, you'll do."

This was where I seemingly paused for breath, but I took the opportunity to help Edward, '_Tell Bella, I had a strange vision about Jasper. She'll understand_.'

"It's only within the finer tunings of a good Italian sport car that you're out of your depth. And speaking of Italy and sports cars I stole there, you still owe me a yellow Porsche. I don't know that I want to wait for Christmas . . ." I had decided it would be a good time to remind him seeing that I had successfully bailed him out, once again. His eyes flickered into the rearview and I could see the appreciation for my lie.

"Well, you know the finer points of the car Edward, you saw the interior in my head. I want to make sure that you are completely aware. I'm double checking in case you feel . . . generous.' I laughed.

I finally came to the conclusion of my speech as we pulled up to the mouth of the drive, Edward had been driving considerably slower than usual.

I hopped out of the car quietly but turned quickly, I had just seen when Victoria would be here. I had to let Edward know. '_Victoria will be here on Saturday, are you going to try and get Bella out of here?_'

Edward was smiling serenely and nodded quickly, and just once.

'_I'll go tell everyone._'

"See you later." he said and nodded again, I took off running. I heard the Volvo pull away.

As I approached the house I saw Jasper waiting on the porch for me, he did this everyday, he told me it was because he was bored, but I knew it was because he missed me. I stopped in front of him and then jumped into his arms.

"Miss me?" I asked planted a kiss on his neck.

He rolled his eyes and kissed my lips gently, "Always."

I smiled at him and hopped down. I took his hand and led him inside. He seemed a little shocked when I turned towards the living room rather than heading straight upstairs, but he followed regardless.

"Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Rosalie." I called quietly and fell into the couch, pulling Jasper with me.

Esme was the first to show up, she came into the room soundlessly and smiling. "Carlisle's at work, Alice, do you want me to call him?"

I nodded and Esme pulled out her cell phone, Emmett and Rosalie came into the room, hand in hand. I smiled at the both.

"Okay, ready." Esme smiled as she held out the phone.

"Hey, Carlsile." I called out.

"What's going on, Alice?" Carlisle's concerned voice came from the speaker phone. It sounded like he was in a quiet space.

"Well, I had a vision today. Victoria will be making an appearance on Saturday. I think Edward's planning on taking Bella away but I have no idea how, I'm sure he'll let us know later."

"Do we know where?" Emmett asked, a grin planted on his face.

"She'll come in from the East, she's following the coast around. Of that much I'm certain."

"I'll be there!" Rosalie almost hissed. She blamed Victoria for all of the happenings whilst we'd been away. It had been her only outlet, she didn't want to place blame on us or herself, Victoria was the closest and most appropriate target.

"Count me in." grinned Emmett.

Carlisle sighed on the other end of the phone. "I hate to waste a life, but she's become such a nuisance. Hopefully there will be no problem in tracking her down."

Esme nodded. "We have to plan this right, we can't risk her getting away and coming back again."

"I'll take care of that." Jasper said quietly. Ever the soldier.

"Okay," I said, now that we had made a decision. "We'll take care of things and we go through it when you and Edward get home."

"Edward's coming home?" Esme asked happily, Edward's presence had been scarce, but he was happy.

"um," I thought about it, I had made an assumption, but something told me I had been right.

I decided to look into it, I knew better than to assume. Edward was stood behind Bella holding the tickets that Esme and Carlisle had bought for her birthday, she wants to say yes, but she says no. Edward, against her wishes will speak to Charlie anyway, Charlie, I will have to wait for his decision. But Edward had already decided to bring Bella over. He was also planning to come home whilst she was asleep so we could talk.

"Yes, Edward is bringing Bella over for a while, and then he'll come back to talk about Victoria when she's asleep. He's already decided."

"Okay, my shift ends at two. Let Edward know so we can be there at the same time."

"Will do." I answered.

Esme disappeared into the kitchen with the phone at her ear. She had bought some human snacks for when Bella was able to visit again and I had no doubt that she was in the kitchen putting something together for her.

I looked at Jasper, his back was rigid and he was lost in thought. He was in military mode. I smiled at Rosalie and got up to get a map, we needed to figure out the strategic places to surround her without her knowing.

Jasper suggested herding her as best we could. If someone could stay out of her line of scent for long enough to come in behind her, we could tighten the circle and trap her. It was a wide area, with a lot of tree cover, I wasn't so sure it would work, but I let my husband draw out the area, and the possible points of entry. We had to look at every option.

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**A/N: Thank you so much for the warm words and the alerts, you guys are so awesome. **

**YOU GUYS ROCK, really you do. Still ironing out some kinks and getting used to the change in story lol.  
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**I will try** **to get another chapter up for you by tonight. Big hugs guys, thanks for everything. ;0)**


	3. Chapter 3 Chess & Strategy

_**The Twilight universe belongs to the talented Stephenie Meyer**_

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**Chapter 3 - Chess and Strategy**

By the time Bella and Edward showed up, we had cleaned away the maps and there were enough snacks laid out for a classroom full of children. There were cookies, candy and pizza rolls. I smiled as Esme traipsed back and forth from the kitchen hauling huge patters of food with her. Bella looked so apologetic, but took one of everything to spare Esme's feelings.

"You don't have to eat it, Bella." I laughed as her eyes widened, there was a bowl of candy sat I front of her. It was a fruit bowl, full of little candy coated chocolates.

"Shh." Bella said lifting her finger to her lips. "She's put so much effort into this, I really don't want to hurt her feelings."

"Bella, if you eat anymore, you're going to be sick. Believe me, I've seen it." I hadn't, but I was hoping that it would scare her into stopping the appeasement. It seemed to be a vicious cycle. Bella was eating because Esme made it. Esme made more because Bella was eating it.

"You're right." Bella sighed and placed her hand on her stomach, which was gurgling furiously as it worked to digest the mass quantities induced.

Esme appeared quietly and sat a glass of coke in front of Bella, and smiled. "Can I get you anything more to eat, Bella?"

"Oh, Esme, no thank you. I am full, but thank you."

Esme smiled, and began picking up some of the plates and taking them back into the kitchen. I smiled, Esme was in her element. She enjoying being able to take care of someone.

Jasper was playing a video game and I was getting bored. I loved to play video games but sitting around watching someone else play really wasn't as entertaining. I had an idea.

"Anyone want to play chess?" I asked grinning. Edward shook his head silently, his eyes narrowed and a smirk appeared. Jasper spun his head to look at me, his mouth hung open, and his eyes looked expectant.

"Do you really think that's a good idea, Alice?" Jasper asked turning off the game and heading towards me. Our chess matches in the past hadn't been so friendly. Edward and I would play against one another because it seemed like the only fair thing to do. Have the skills that we had, made a fair game impossible. We would often sit there for hours playing out moves in our heads. We had actually played for three days before, at which point only three figures had been moved. We had sworn never to play again, but that was almost five years ago. I was finally ready for a rematch. Jasper had been practicing with me.

"I think it will be . . . entertaining." I said looking for the right word.

Jasper laughed and headed to the couch Bella and Edward were occupying. Bella looked at Jasper curiously.

"This should be interesting." He said to her over Edward. Bella's eyes widen as she realized the possibilities.

I rolled my eyes and headed to where we had the chess table. I picked it up and placed it in the center of the room. Jasper stood up from the couch and disappeared to get two dining chairs.

"Okay, who's first?" I asked, taking the seat the Jasper was holding out for me.

"I'll play." Edward smirking, "It seems only fair."

Bella laughed and shook her head, realizing exactly what he meant. I rolled my eyes and knew this would not be a long game. Edward was in a competitive mode and he would stop at nothing to win. More so than ever now Bella was watching. Edward sat opposite me and folded his arms on the table in front of him.

"Fine," I sighed and pushed a pawn forward without thinking about it. Edward frowned, he'd expected my first move to be strategic. I saw several different options flip through his mind until he made his decision. He pushed a pawn forward.

I thought of my next move, I saw Edward's returning move as he decided how to counter act. We did this for a while until I saw a play he couldn't possibly use to win. I moved another pawn forward, Edward tried to decide his next move, every time he saw this flash through my mind he would change his move because of my answering move. Finally he moved a pawn forward. I then went through every possible move that I could make, I was frustrated, every move seemed to lean toward him taking my king. This couldn't be right. I moved every possible piece on the board in my head and each time, he had cornered me and taken my king. Damn, that was quick, in fact, that was a record time for our chess matches, a whopping three minutes. I pushed over my king surrendering, Edward looked triumphant. He jumped up from his seat and kissed Bella gently.

"Remind me to never play chess with, Alice." Bella said quietly.

I laughed, but Edward feigned hurt. "Hey, I won."

Bella laughed happily, she ran her hand gently down his cheek, "Yes, but you can't read _my_ mind."

I raised my eyebrows, if Bella was a half decent player it would be fun to watch Edward have to play an honest game. He couldn't read her mind so he would have to play the same way everyone else played. I would have to remember this, I'm sure it would come in useful.

'Okay, Bella, Jasper. Your turn. I wanna nice clean fight." I said laughing

"Oh, Alice, I'm really no good." Bella said nervously.

"That's okay, Jasper can't read your mind or see the future. You'll be fine."

"Okay," Bella and I stood up and swapped seats. Edward sat next to me as Jasper filled the seat opposite Bella. Bella made the first move, and I could tell that Edward saw the game in my head as it progressed on the line it was going in. He groaned quietly as Bella made her next move.

Bella looked self conscious, Jasper moved his next piece and I smiled. He may not have the ability to read minds or see the future, but his military skill gave him a strategic edge.

Bella sat for a while pondering her next move. When she finally moved Edward wiggled in the seat next to me, Bella glanced at him nervously. The entire game moved along this way, Bella moving, Edward cringing and Jasper grinning. I would seriously have to give Bella some chess lessons, she wasn't very good at all.

In the End, Jasper walked all over Bella and she lost astoundingly, they played to point where Jasper practically had all of his pieces and Bella had her king. Edward was immediately by her side telling her how well she'd done.

"Edward, I was slaughtered." Edward cringed at her choice of words but quickly recovered.

"But you tried, and you were doing well there."

Bella's eyebrows shot up and she shook her head laughing. "I am quite capable of losing a game. Next time, we play monopoly."

"Do we even have monopoly?" I asked.

"I'll bring it over. I think it could be a game you and Edward would have a hard time cheating on." She laughed triumphantly.

Jasper laughed as he put the chess table back in it's place. "The only game they don't cheat at is twister, and more often than not Rosalie wins that."

Bella laughed and nodded her head.

"Well, I guess I should get back before Charlie starts to overreact."

I jumped up and gave Bella a huge hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Bella returned my hug and then released me, she smiled at Jasper warmly.

"Okay, bye guys,"

Bella and Edward headed out of the house, it was just Jasper and I when they left, and I wasn't sure I was ready to disappear into my room just yet. Rosalie and Emmett were on a quick hunt, and Esme was watering the plants she had planted when we got back from Ithaca.

Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my back to him tightly. "It seems we're alone." he whispered as he kissed my neck lovingly.

"Certainly appears that way." I laughed as I spun in his arms.

"You wanna do some more experiments?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"What?" Jasper asked kissing my neck more.

"We have time alone and you want to test yourself and your theories against my ability. Jasper, I would think after over fifty years you would learn."

"Hey, it keeps us on our toes."

"Fine!" I sighed and took his hand as we walked back outside.

The night was beautiful, it was almost silent due to the lack of the substantial wind that usually accompanied the rain. I walked into the middle of the meadow and sat cross legged. Jasper set up his perimeters. I lay back and relaxed while I waited.

The vision I saw had me choking in laughter, Charlie had decided to give Bella a sex talk. He appeared to be more mortified than Bella herself. They were both staring at one another in utter discomfort. Red faced and embarrassed.

I opened my eyes and laughed, it wasn't hard to understand how embarrassing it would be if your parents brought up your sex life as a topic of conversation. Jasper and I always kept a low profile, I never really wanted to discuss our intimacy with Carlisle and Esme, I would occasionally talk to Rosalie, but that was because the girl had no shame when it came to talking about her and Emmett's sex life.

I felt Jasper lay over the top of me gently and kiss my neck. "What's so funny."

"Charlie." I sighed, as I ran my hand the length of his muscular back. "He's giving Bella _the_ sex talk. They're both traumatized."

"Is Edward there?"

"No, he's coming home until Charlie goes to bed."

Jasper grinned and hopped up, holding out his hand for me to take.

"You ready?"

I nodded and stood still as he pulled the blindfold over my eyes. He was still looking for ways in which people deceived me, he couldn't understand how they were avoiding making decisions. So he was looking for ways he could block me, I kept trying to explain I was too attuned to him but he continued to try, his curiosity was getting the better of him, and he would love to beat me at my own tricks.

I stood in the middle of the field as he circled me quickly, I could hear the direction he was moving, and the round about speed he was traveling in. I just couldn't tell how close or far out he was. I concentrated on the sounds of his feet and his scent. I was almost to the point of visualizing where his exact location was when I was hit with a vision.

Bella was in her room, she was still embarrassed by Charlie's talk and she seemed agitated. Charlie had brought up Jacob again, he'd opened all of the wounds again. She was trying to find something to occupy her time until Edward returned. The idea came to her. She pondered over it slowly.

I cut off the vision, I didn't need to see anymore, I knew what she was going to do I reached in my pocket for my phone with one hand and pulled the blindfold off with the other. I dialed Edward's number quickly.

"Alice? I'm almost home, what's up?" Edward asked answering the phone.

"You need to turn around."

"Why? What happened? Is Bella alright?" His voice was panicked.

"Bella's fine, she's just going to try and visit the dog." I said softly. "I know you wanted me to tell you when she tried it."

Edward sighed loudly into the phone. "Thanks, Alice."

"Not a problem. I'll see you later."

I returned the phone to my pocket and returned the blindfold into place. I heard Jasper laugh as he changed directions and began zig-zagging. I listen quietly again. I stepped forward once and felt a breeze as Jasper flew past me. I laughed. "Gotta do better than that Jazz. You were making enough noise to scare a heard of elephants."

I heard Jasper's faint laugh, he'd taken off into the woods, he was trying to sneak up on me without thinking about it. I took the opportunity to check on what Edward was doing. He'd pulled out something mechanical from Bella's truck and then sat inside it waiting for her. He would frighten her, but she would forgive him quickly.

I could hear no movements in the meadow around me and I crouched low to the ground and listened. If he was close by he was being silent. I looked for his decisions in my head, and I smiled. He was about a foot away form me, ready to pounce, I was guessing that he'd just made this decision. I rolled forward as he dived. He slid right by me and I jumped on him, straddling his waist. I could feel his hands on my waist. I pulled off the blindfold again and grinned.

He looked like a deity laying in the tall dark grass, with his blonde hair disheveled and his grin lighting up his face. I sighed and closed my eyes as I leaned forward and laid my head on his chest. "Nice try, you almost had me that time. I didn't hear a thing. But you thought about it at the last second. You gave yourself away."

He grunted and wrapped his arms around me pulling me closer. I closed my eyes and relaxed enjoying the evening. There hadn't been too many decisions being made at the moment, the Volturi seemed to be satisfied and content after their feed. Aro's mind hadn't made a decision in a couple of hours. Victoria was resolute about finding Bella. Bella's decisions had been this evenings entertainment. The silence was refreshing, I felt comfortable here, but I knew it wouldn't last long, there was a faint feeling of frustration and determination emanating from Jasper, so he would try until he came closer to catching me.

I was right, we spent another couple of hours trying, Jasper hated to lose so the experiment would often turn into a competition, with me winning every time. I would laugh joyfully every time I heard his grunt. Having a blindfold on was a novel experience, I found each of my other senses heightened even more, I could hear leaves on the trees as they rubbed against one another, I could feel the light touch of a breeze every time one blew through, and I smelt Rosalie before she got to me. I heard her land to the right of me and I pulled off my blindfold.

"That's fair, Jasper." I said sarcastically as I grinned at Rosalie.

'Worth a try." he sighed.

"Well, Carlisle and Edward should be home any minute. Esme asked me to let you know."

"Thanks, Rosalie."

Rosalie headed towards the house and I jumped on Jasper's back. He looped his arms through my legs and carried me towards the house.

Both Carlisle and Edward appeared at the house at two am. We were all sat around watching a movie. Emmett and Rosalie were curled up on one couch, Esme was sat at the end with Rosalie's feet in her lap, and Jasper and I were curled up on the loveseat together.

With everyone home it was time to get down to business. Edward, had successfully convinced Bella to visit her mother in Florida. Whilst they were gone, the rest of us would be in the forest holding down our side of the line.

Jasper drew out some formations for us to work on. We weren't sure which route we would take, but we wanted to keep her on our land and we wanted to get close enough to her to eliminate her, we knew it would be difficult, and Edward explained that she had been quite talented in escaping sticky situations.

Carlisle wondered whether this could have been a talent for her, she seemed cleverly elusive, and from what Bella had told us, she'd been the same way with the wolves.

Finally, we came up with our plan of action. Rosalie, being light footed would be the one to cover the rear. She would hide down wind and wait until she picked up Victoria's scent. The rest of us would stay relatively close together. As soon as Rosalie picked up her scent she would make a conscious decision to follow Victoria, which would give me the alert that she was close by, and what direction she would be headed in. We would then take our places and wait. As she passed us by we would form a circle around her. Emmett would take the front, the brick wall as he so lovingly referred to it, and we would hope to be surrounding her at this point. Seemed easy enough in theory.

I was glad that we were finalizing everything but something was bothering me, I felt like we'd forgotten something. We ran through it a couple more times once I voiced my concerns.

"Alice, what else is there?" Jasper asked quietly.

"I don't know, Jasper. It's just bothering me."

Jasper and I were heading to our room. Edward had headed back towards Bella's house, Esme and Carlisle had settled in to watch a movie and Rosalie and Emmett had disappeared.

"I know, I can tell." he sighed.

"I'm sorry," I said turning around and wrapping my arms around his neck, he was a couple of stairs below me, which evened out our height. "I promise, I'll try and forget about it."

Jasper smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. I grinned back and headed up the stairs again. I knew it would be in the back of my mind, but I would have to keep my emotions in check, he didn't need to suffer my anxiety.

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**A/N: Hi guys, I was able to get you the second chapter for today, and there is was. Hope I did okay. **

**Thank you again for every Alert and kind word. YOU ROCK! -hugs-**


	4. Chapter 4 Battle Lines

**_Everything twilight belongs to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer._**

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**Chapter 4 - Battle Lines.**

With Bella and Edward safely on a plane, the rest of us made necessary arrangements. We would be ready for Victoria, we were sure she wouldn't have a chance to get away. Each of us had our specific places and tasks, Jasper would try and calm her into submission so we could take care of her easily, much to the displeasure of Emmett, who had been looking forward to a fight. I had checked consistently on Victoria's plans. I was convinced she would change it up occasionally.

Saturday night arrived in due course, Emmett had been more impatient that ever, Rosalie was having a hard time keeping him relaxed. Each of us wore neutral tones, which neither Rosalie or myself had been happy about, but it would help us blend in with the scenery. We didn't want Victoria to see us, therefore, it was a necessity.

"Okay, Alice, before we head out, have you seen anything new?" Carlisle asked, he was holding the door handle.

I closed me eyes and concentrated again, I had to concentrate to get anything from Victoria, most things seemed to come to me naturally, but with Victoria, it almost took an effort. There was nothing new, it was almost a repeat every time I saw it, like she'd been certain this was her chance.

"No, nothing new, she'll come over the treaty line exactly where I saw her come over the last time."

"Excellent," Emmett said, "then let's get going."

We headed out into the night, it seemed that once again we were fortunate, the wind was calm and the night was still, it would be no problem picking up her scent when she passed by. The ever so light breeze would create a perfect trail to where Rosalie would be located.

The running was calming and each of us were silent as we traveled through the night. I ran side by side with Jasper, we were more conscious of our footsteps than usual, making no unnecessary sound. We were naturally quiet creatures, but the occasional step on a twig or the disturbance of the bracken could sometime make more sound than we intended. This wasn't a problem when hunting for animals, but hunting a vampire was a completely different ball game. Victoria would be listening for us, she'd patiently wait for one of us to make a mistake.

We left Rosalie at the treaty line in a particularly dense part of the forest. The trees so close together would give her good shelter and she would be sheltered from any wind that decided to make an appearance. The rest of us, headed further into the forest. We would have to await Rosalie's decision before we could move. We each stood in silence as we waited. We would have about ten minutes from Rosalie catching the scent to position ourselves.

The anticipation in the air was tangible, Jasper was on edge and trying his best to wash a sense of calm over us. It dulled the emotions but never subdued them. This was pivotal, it would remove one of the threats towards Bella, Victoria was resolute in her plan to destroy Edward by taking Bella from him, we weren't going to let that happen. We'd seen the consequences to that and we weren't willing to risk both of their lives by letting it happen again.

I leaned against a tree and waited for Rosalie's decision. Jasper was picking the bark on the tree I was leaning on. As time moved around us, I had a feeling that it seemed to be taking longer than it should, I couldn't understand what was wrong. The moon was in the exact position it had been in my vision, she should be crossing the line any minute. The minutes, however, seemed to pass by, almost like the moment had come and gone. Something was wrong, I searched my mind for Rosalie.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked, his voice barely audible.

"Something's wrong." I answered, my voice at the same volume. We each closed in to a small circle so we could speak.

"What's going on?" Emmett's voice was worried, his wife was alone, and ten minutes away from us.

"I'm not sure, she should have crossed the line by now, but Rosalie has nothing, she's considering coming to find us. It's been too long."

Emmett's shoulders relaxed at Rosalie's name, he knew that Rosalie was a force to be reckoned with, and could quite easily look after herself, but as her husband, he worried. Any of us would feel the same.

"I'll go and get her," Esme offered quietly.

Each of us were silent as we thought about the plan. Carlisle nodded. He knew it would be the only way to let Rosalie know what was going on. With me blind, the only way to keep an eye out for Victoria tonight, would be to use our instincts, and our heightened senses. It would take longer, and possibly lead nowhere. But is was all we had.

"If she hasn't crossed by now, I doubt she will. I'm sure she's sensed something waiting for her." Carlisle offered.

Esme nodded and turned towards the direction we had left Rosalie in. Carlisle picked up her hand gently. I knew he hated to think of Esme in any kind of confrontation because of her nature.

"Be careful, my love, and try and give the path a wide berth, just in case she's running late. We would have no way to get a message to you. If Rosalie is not where we left her follow her scent. You will find us."

Esme nodded and kissed him gently on the lips. "You worry too much!" she whispered giving him a smile and disappearing into the trees.

I nibbled on my bottom lip as I looked, once again, for Victoria's thoughts. It was still the same, almost stuck in a loop, like she was planning this all along and would think of nothing but this as she acted on raw instinct. I knew she was aware of my talent, but just how aware I wasn't sure. Carlisle had tried to pull some information from Tanya and Irina on how much Laurent had known, but they had let their guard down around him and answered almost every question he had asked them, this was bad. He would know almost everything, it would take us going back through every conversation and action with Tanya's family to understand just how much they'd known to give him. Something we didn't have time for.

I was curious as to whether this was a test of some sort, whether she was testing my vision. I doubt I would ever know and I would hate to voice this to the family, I knew I would have to, but this was not the time. We were in our hunting mode, each of us were restless.

Rosalie's decision came to me quickly, Victoria had passed right by her, she'd come from behind and was fully aware of Rosalie's presence. Rosalie, instantly made the decision to chase her down. She followed her closely, Victoria was heading straight for us.

"Crap," I said as I turned my head to the forest. I knew that Rosalie and Victoria would get here in minutes. "Victoria's heading in this direction, she saw Rosalie. Rose is chasing her down. We have no time to rearrange they're almost here. We have to act quickly."

As soon as I said this I heard Victoria's light footsteps, a look of culmination filled each of my families faces, we had to act fast. Each of us began running, we were up to speed by the time she caught up with us. She was smarter than we gave her credit for. We were running along the treaty line and she was zig zagging across it. As Rosalie came close to touching her she disappeared through the trees on the other side of the line. We spread out along the line, I was sure she would cross back over at some point.

I smelt and heard them before I saw them. Victoria shot out from the tree line and was once again on our side of the line but she was being followed, by the wolves. I knew my family were further up the line from me and I panicked. It was what we had forgotten. Why hadn't I thought of it before. That's when I realized it was because I couldn't see them. What was the saying 'out of sight, out of mind.' How could I have been so careless?

I followed Victoria at full speed, she was ahead of me but she was no longer my main concern. I made sure to stay on our side of the line as I ploughed through the wilderness. Jasper was the first I came across. He was following Victoria, she had passed by him on the other side of the line.

"Jasper," I called quietly. He slowed waiting for me to catch up to him.

"The wolves, it's what I forgot." I whispered as we sped along the line. "We have to catch up with the rest of them before the cross the line, if she crosses it even by an inch and we follow, we've broken the treaty."

Jasper nodded and sped up. I followed behind, straining to hear whether or not the wolves were close. I could hear their feet as they hit the ground not far on the other side of the line. They were agile, but I could hear them clearly. I saw the rest of my family ahead. Emmett was close on Victoria's heels, I knew it wouldn't be a good outcome because he was so focused, if she crossed the line . . .

She did and Emmett followed diving for her, but she was too quick. Emmett came skidding to a halt exactly on the line, but one of the wolves was occupying the same space. The wolf spun on it heels and crouched low to the ground preparing to pounce. Emmett was quicker and dodged as the Wolf sprang at him.

I knew that Emmett would have a hard time letting that go and I was hoping someone would stop him before he broke the treaty by retaliating.

I stopped close to my family. Emmett was glaring at the wolf, but Jasper was speaking to him under his breath. My main concern was Rosalie. One action guaranteed to raise Rosalie's temper was to go after Emmett, she didn't take kindly to it, and her instincts would take control before her mind had time to process it. She was crouched, her eyes trained on the wolf, following his every move. This was bad. Rosalie, when focused, was dangerous, a ripping snarl was emitting from her chest, she was shifting ever so slightly on her feet. She was preparing to pounce. The snarling turned into growling, and a hiss was escaping through her teeth, it was a menacing sound. I shuddered at the sound, it wasn't often Rosalie lost her temper, but when she did, she was venomous.

On the other side of the line, the wolf was being flanked on either side by two of the larger wolves. One was russet brown with black eyes, his coat was shaggier than the others. The other was all black, but his eyes were calm. I knew that they would protect their pack members with their lives. It wasn't something I was looking forward too, but I had to calm Rosalie down. I knew how stubborn she was, but I was hoping that one second of a conscious mind would show her the three wolves that stood protective of themselves and their land.

I rested my hand on Rosalie's shoulder, her attention immediately snapped to me, I shook my head quickly at her and she nodded at me. I knew how she hated becoming so instinctual, I saw her shuddering beside me as she straightened up. I gave her a small smile, it had been easier than I'd anticipated.

I watched as Carlisle and Jasper approached the line slowly. Their stances showing their intention, they only wanted to talk. The black wolf and the russet wolf stepped forward cautiously and nodded towards Carlisle. I could feel the calm that Jasper was giving off, I let it wash over me. The tension in my body dissipated a little.

Carlisle spoke slowly and calmly, each word came out deliberately.

"Please, we need to calm down."

The black wolf nodded slowly.

"I apologize for any misunderstanding regarding the line."

The black wolf nodded once again.

"I think we should focus on the larger problem here, the rogue vampire that is running the line."

A rumble emitted from the small gathering of wolves on the other side.

"We would like to continue chasing her, she is as much a problem to us as she is to you. She's headed west again and I think we should stick to our individual sides and try to catch her. You may take the line, I understand that our scent will distract you."

Each of the wolves looked to the leader and waited, he nodded slowly and the wolves headed back in the direction of that Victoria had come from. Whilst we had been in conversation, we'd heard her double back on herself, avoiding our gathering. She'd taken the opportunity to slip past us.

We ran the line back towards the west, giving the wolves the lead, they needed her scent to follow and ours would just confuse their senses. She was visible ahead of us, she was dancing the line once again, being careful to avoid the grasp of any of us. Esme joined us quickly, she'd heard us coming and had waited lying low, she had intended to spring on Victoria as she passed, I saw her make the decision and tried to slow the family as Victoria closed in on Esme's location.

As Esme sprang, Victoria darted across the line to the wolves side, they had been moving quietly among the trees, waiting for an opportunity to spring at her. Esme slid and caught her footing before crossing the line, she recovered quickly and was once again amongst us as we gave chase.

I was starting to believe that Carlisle had been right in assuming that elusiveness had been a strong talent of Victoria's. She seemed to time her crossing perfectly. Whatever side got too close, she would jump the line, if both sides were too close she would disappear into the tree lines, until she came out further ahead.

As we approached the coast, we had to stop. We had no choice. Victoria disappeared down the line of the Quileutes land and towards the ocean.

Jasper and Emmett approached the line, most of the pack had taken off after her, attempting to follow her into the water. We knew that we would be the only ones able to follow at her speed.

"May we pass, to follow?" Jasper asked calmly.

The black wolf had stopped to hold the line, he hadn't wanted us to cross in a moment of instinct. He shook his head and followed the rest of his pack down the coast line.

A long string of profanities escaped Emmett's mouth as he shoved at a tree causing it to crash to the ground. The smell of damp soil filled the air as the roots of the tree dangled above the earth. Carlisle shook his head and tried to straighten out the tree. We were almost alway conscious enough to clean up after ourselves.

"Emmett!" Rosalie didn't appreciate the language he was using. He looked at her apologetically and crossed his arms over his chest. His anger and frustration was shaking him. He gaze was still locked on where Victoria and the wolves disappeared.

"What now?" Rosalie asked as rubbed Emmett's back lovingly, trying to calm him.

"She's gone." I said shaking my head. "She won't come back tonight."

"What happened, Alice?" Carlisle asked, his head tipped to the side in curiosity.

"I'm not sure, but I had the distinct feeling she was testing us."

"How?" asked Roslie, she was now wrapped in Emmett's arms. Her hand rubbing his chest gently. his expression was relaxing a little from her touch.

"I'm not sure." I said honestly. "It could be our abilities, our arrangement with the wolves. Even the boundary line. She's doing this for a reason, but she's very clever about it, she's holding it away from herself. I think we need to keep Bella closer until we have her. She's more cunning than I originally thought."

"Yes, you're right, Alice. We also need to understand what she's testing." Carlisle said as he took Esme's hand and started back to the house.

I looked around and saw Jasper still staring after Victoria and the wolves. "Jazz?" I called, as I approached.

His head snapped towards me and he smiled grimly.

"What's the matter?" I asked running my hand up his back gently as he wrapped one of his arms around me.

"I should have been more prepared."

I wrapped both of my arms around my waist and held myself close to him. "Jasper, I should have paid more attention, we couldn't plan for something we had no idea would happen. I had no idea she was testing us, none of us _could _know that."

Jasper sighed and wrapped his other arm around me, kissing the top of my head gently. "She's tricky, it makes me want to catch her all the more."

"I know," I sighed. "Emmett feels the same way."

I guided him with my arms, that were still around his waist, and started for home. I knew that he needed something to occupy his competitive side, Victoria had turned the chase into a game. Something that would definitely keep us frustrated unless we released it. There was only one option, and it included all of us.

I released myself from Jasper's grasp and headed toward Rosalie, she was in the safe enclosure of Emmett's arms, still trying to calm him, he was as worked up as Jasper.

"Hey, Rosalie," I said matching my steps with theirs so I could keep in line with them. "Can I have a quick word?"

Rosalie looked up at Emmett and then nodded at me. She wriggled free from Emmett's arms and let me pull her away from him.

"What's going on, Alice?"

"I have an idea, everyone is so worked up right now. Maybe we should continue the wrestling tournament, it'll be a perfect release for this tension. I know Emmett's been waiting for a rematch with Jasper. I know Edward's not here, but we can work around that, he can make up for it later. It's just that Jasper is so frustrated, and I can see Emmett's just as annoyed. It'll work out some of the energy."

Rosalie thought for a second and looked between each of us. Even Carlisle seems distracted by the frustration. Her lips formed a perfect grin. "Sounds like a good idea."

I stopped with Rosalie and the family looked at us curiously. I looked at Rosalie, I knew she'd want to do the honors.

"Okay, Alice and I have discussed what we should do for the rest of the evening and we've decided on continuing the family tournament. We know Edward isn't here, and he can make up the matches he misses out on, but Alice and I feel we need to get rid of some of the energy. It's just going to keep eating at us all for days, unless of course we go hunting, but I think this will be more entertaining." Rosalie finished.

We looked around at one another and nodded. This was going to be fun.

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**A/N: Okay, that was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, but it was also more fun. I wanted to keep true to Edward and Jacob's versions. Hope I did it some justice. I'm not sure whether the wrestling is out of character or not but I know when I'm really frustrated like that I need something to take my mind off of the problem. They also seem to be pretty competitive as a family :)**

**Thank you for the Reviews and alerts from the last chapter, YOU GUYS ROCK! -HUGS-**


	5. Chapter 5 Unexpected Visitor

_**All things in the Twilight Universe belong to the awesome Stephenie Meyer**_

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**Chapter 5 - Unexpected Visitor**

The wresting commenced with an air of grace. Emmett had been seeking a rematch from Jasper since their last brawl, but things hadn't worked out that well. We were in the field where we played baseball on thunderous evenings. Wrestling was comparatively quiet compared to baseball, and consequentially easier to mask. We had house rules. The first one with teeth at the neck won the fight. Each three count was fifty points, which was added to our total scores, and a lockout was if it ended up in stalemate. A lockout was a call for a rematch.

Jasper and Emmett were up first. Carlisle was referee.

"Okay, boys. I want a nice clean fight. You know the rules. Now shake on it."

Emmett and Jasper shook hands both grinning happily. They backed away from one another and crouched low to the ground. Their eyes were trained on one another waiting for Carlisle's word. Rosalie and I sat side by side grinning. They were our husbands, but they were also our opponents. We stayed on our feet so we could move around the field easily.

"Ding, ding, ding." Carlisle said laughing.

Emmett raced forward but Jasper was too quick. What Jasper lacked in strength he made up for in speed and skill. He was quickly behind Emmett, Emmett had one hand behind his back and Jasper was kicking his feet out from under him. Emmett fell to his knees hard. Jasper made quick word of flattening him to the ground. Carlisle was on his knees and tapping. After the three count, they were back on their feet.

'Fifty to Jasper, Esme." Carlisle called as he pushed the boys apart. They were chest to chest.

Esme nodded, she was the score keeper. She hadn't participated in a while to keep the numbers even. Her photographic memory held the running tally of every wrestling match, baseball game, and any other sports we participated in. She was our walking and talking scoreboard.

Carlisle dropped his hand between the two boys again and they pounced at one another, Jasper tried dashing to the opposite side this time but Emmett was a quick study and didn't fall for the same move twice. Emmett caught Jasper around the waist and swung him around slamming him to the ground, the soft, damp mud beneath our feet shook at the impact. Jasper, using the wet ground to manoeuver himself from Emmett's iron grip was on his feet in seconds. Emmett rolled onto his back and swept his feet under Jasper's feet. Jasper caught on and tried to jump them but was a second late with the second foot. He came crashing down to the ground on his side. Emmett wasted no time and held his shoulder flat to the ground, his teeth at Jasper's throat.

"Emmett, wins!" Carlisle shouted happily.

Emmett was on his feet jumping around happily, he punched Jasper on the shoulder as he rose to his feet. Jasper rolled his eyes and headed towards me.

I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Crap!" Jasper said as her held me close. "I'm not going to live that down till a rematch."

I laughed and kissed him gently before making my way to the center of the circle. I stopped in front of Carlisle.

"I believe it's you and I next." I grinned. Everyone hated to being Edward or my opponent. Our gift gave us the upper hand. I rarely lost, but I always went for an easy win. This of course meant that my points weren't nearly as high as those who battled it out, but I was still third.

Esme jogged to the middle of the field and grinned at me. She enjoyed refereeing.

"Okay, you two, you know the rules. I expect you to keep to them."

Carlisle and I nodded, shook hands and moved back from one another. I crouched as low to the ground as I could get and grinned. Carlisle looked resigned. Esme held her hand up and looked at the two of us. She then dropped it. Carlisle stayed where he was, as did I. We both moved slowly towards the center. He knew how to get around my ability when wrestling. He would move slowly, that simple. He would think about his moves but execute them at human speeds. I'd been doing this long enough to understand his tactics so I matched his movements. His eyebrows raised as he came in closer. He was still formulating his plan when I took off. I ran past him quickly. Using the slick grass I slid and span on the spot, before he had a second to blink, I was on his back, teeth at his neck.

Esme laughed happily. "Nice win for Alice."

I got up and curtsied. "Thank you."

I skipped back to where the rest of the family were waiting. Esme followed me quietly.

"Rosalie, Emmett, you two are up." she said pointing to the field. Carlisle was waiting for them.

"You ready for this Rose?" Emmett gloated happily, "I'm on a roll."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and strode out towards the field. "You want a side bet, Emmett?" She asked, confidence coating her every word.

"The terms?" asked Emmett happily.

"Hmm." Rosalie stopped and her eyes flashed towards me. "I win, we take ballroom dancing lessons from Carlisle, no arguments."

Emmett rolled his eyes, "Fine, and if I win?"

"I'll make any adjustment you want to the Jeep, no argument."

Emmett considered the bet a while before agreeing. "Fine, but you're paying for the parts if I win."

"Done." sang Rosalie. She held out her hand and Emmett shook on it.

Carlisle shook his head and sent them apart. Rosalie had an intimidating grin spread out across her features. Emmett looked nervous.

"He's going to regret that." Esme laughed as she nodded at Carlisle.

Carlisle dropped his hand, the second he did Rosalie reacted before Emmett had time to think. She ran at him her shoulder dug directly into his stomach, he flew back towards the tree line and pulled down a small spruce in his effort to stop. He rounded his shoulder and charged at Rosalie full speed. She crouched low to the ground, her eyes trained directly at her target. She pounced and met him mid air, the two of them came to a crashing blow, it echoed around the mountains. Each of us cringed. It wasn't a normal occurrence to get in a hit like that. Rosalie wanted to win the bet.

Emmett had Rosalie by one arm, he pushed her to the ground and attempted to jump on top of her, but she was gone. She ran at him quickly ready to jump on his back, but he was off the ground and dodging her before she made contact. He grabbed at her legs and she rolled to the ground. She stopped at a crouch and span to face Emmett again. He planted his legs and grinned, he blew her a kiss and curled his finger in provocation. She charged at him quickly and dropped as she slid through his legs, her arms wrapped around them pulling them from beneath him. She was on her feet in seconds pouncing on his back, her lips were immediately at his neck.

Jasper was chuckling next to me and I sat in utter shock. Rosalie was normally the one to collect points but she went straight for the neck with alarming speed and agility. It was also another move she had obviously come up with, and certainly one only she could pull off so elegantly.

Rosalie stood up and patted Emmett on the back. "Nice doing business with you." she kissed him on the cheek and headed towards the rest of us.

Jasper shook his head in disbelief and hopped up. "Well, that's about all the damage we can do until Edward's home." he turned to Esme and smiled. "You get all that?"

Esme nodded, a smile still lingering on her lips as she watched Rosalie brush the dirt from her pants. Carlisle joined us he looked completely bemused.

"I think Rosalie needs extra points for style." I said laughing. "That was priceless."

I looked out to the field and Emmett was laying on his side, his hand propping up his head. He was replaying the move in his head. I didn't need to read minds or decisions to know that. Rosalie laughed and darted into the field. She pounced on Emmett's chest and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Put on your dancing shoe's big boy." She laughed, as she jumped up and held out a hand for him to take. Emmett took her hand willingly put pulled her down to him again. That was our cue to leave.

Edward and Bella arrived home Sunday evening, Edward had a detailed report on the interior of Renee's house. Jacksonville was sunny, so he had, except for the evenings, stayed inside. We in turn described our Saturday night. He wasn't too thrilled to learn about the run in with the dogs.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that's what that call was about tonight." Edward hissed running his hand through his hair, "Why can't he leave her alone, just as things start going fine and she stops talking about him, there he goes rearing his head."

"Edward, she loves you. This jealousy really is unfounded, and by keeping her away from him you're effectively pushing them closer together." said Rosalie hands on her hips.

The whole room spun and looked at her. "What?" she asked looking confused.

"You realize we're talking about Bella." said Emmett laughing.

"Oh, shut up." Rosalie hissed and threw herself into a chair.

"She's right, Edward. I know that it's not the only reason you're trying to keep her away, but you are pushing her towards him." I said smiling lightly.

"He's dangerous!" Edward said placing his index finger on his temples in frustration and shaking his head.

I shot a glance at Rosalie and she shrugged in response.

"You're right, he is." said Emmett. Rosalie shot him a look.

"Thanks Emmett." Edward answered smiling at his brothers support. "So, Alice, have you seen anything more from Victoria?"

"No, not since that last vision that night. I'm not sure why, it's almost as if she's testing us." I sighed, I'd been looking hard for some signs of a decision from her but she seemed not to be making any.

"What about Seattle?"

"I think there was another murder, we haven't watched too much of the news since you were gone."

Edward nodded. "Anything else?"

Rosalie grinned happily. "I believe I'm running neck and neck with you in wrestling."

Edward looked up quickly, his eyes were wide.

"Sorry brother, we needed something to do after missing our target. It seemed like a good way to expend our unsatisfied aggression." Emmett laughed.

"Okay, so, who fought who?"

"Jasper and Emmett, Rosalie and Emmett, and me and Carlisle." I said smiling.

"Points?" Edward asked.

"Fifty for Jasper on a count, but he lost to me so I got the hundred. Rose kicked my ass in a second, so she got the hundred, and Alice took down Carlisle, she got a hundred." Emmett laughed.

"Rosalie took you down?"

"Yeah, new move." said Jasper laughing.

Edward lifted his eyebrows and laughed. "We'll even this out next round."

"Maybe, maybe not . . ." Rosalie laughed.

"We'll see!" Edward returned her laugh. "I'd better get to Bella's."

"Say hi for me." I said as he got up and crossed to the door.

"I will, and, Alice,"

"Yeah?"

"Can you make it to school on your own tomorrow? I'm going to take the car now."

"That's fine,"

Edward picked up his bag and headed out of the door. The four of us sat in silence until the sound of the Volvo died down.

"He's being stubborn,"Rosalie said quietly. "Stopping her from seeing her friend will give them a greater bond than it would by just letting them see one another."

"I know, but you how stubborn he can be, and mix in a little jealousy. . ." I started.

"Pigheadedness!" said Rosalie.

"That's not fair." said Jasper quietly. "I don't know what I'd do if I caught you trying to sneak off to see some other guy, no matter how innocent it might be."

I thought about that and realized that he was right. He knew he had me forever, and he would still get jealous if I chose to spend some of my time with another guy. It would be the same reversed. I knew how deep Bella's love for Edward ran, but I couldn't help feeling a greater understanding for Edward's point of view, and I could see that Rosalie was thinking the same way.

Jasper dropped me off at school the next morning, he was happy to spend some extra time with me, even if it was only ten minutes. I promised to call him if I needed a ride home, then he disappeared. I had only reached the cafeteria when the whispers started.

"Did you see how big that kid is?"

"Yeah, you think Cullen's gonna fight him?"

"Maybe we should hang around and check it out."

The mention of our last name had my immediate attention, and there was no doubt about who the other 'kid' was, I hadn't seen anything and I knew that would mean a wolf. I made my way forward through the crowd, getting them to part wasn't an issue. I stopped at the sight before me.

Edward, holding Bella's hand was standing a few yards away from the abnormally large Jacob Black, who was leaning casually against his black motorcycle.

"I already know what you came to say,' I heard Edward say under his breath. "Message delivered, consider us warned."

"Warned?" Bella asked, stepping out a little from behind Edward. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't tell her? What, were you afraid she'd take our side?" Jacob asked, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Please, drop it, Jacob," Edward asked, his voice still low enough to where none of the humans gathering could hear it.

"Why?" Jacob challenged. I couldn't understand why he was deliberately making life more difficult.

"What don't I know? Edward?" Bella asked, her voice was borderline anger and hysteria.

Edward and Jacob were glaring at one another, Edward chose to ignore the question.

"Jake?" Bella asked, knowing she would find her answer.

"He didn't tell you that his big . . . _brother_ crossed the line Saturday night?" Jacob asked sarcastically. "Paul was totally justified in—"

"It was no-man's land!" Edward hissed the words under his breath. This had a chance of getting ugly. Jacob was getting upset too, I could see the quiver running down his spine.

"Was not!"

'_Edward,'_ I called in my head, hoping his name would be enough for him to listen to me. His eyes flickered briefly to me.

'_He's getting angry, I understand you want Bella to know how dangerous he is, but if he phases in front of a school full of children . . .' _I left the rest of that thought up to his imagination, I saw him nod with his eyes.

Jacob shook his head as he regained control.

"Emmett and Paul?" Bella asked horrified, her eyes were wide as her mind ran through the possibilities. "What happened? Were they fighting?" Bella's voice reached a high octave as her imagination peaked. "Why? Did Paul get hurt?"

"No one fought," Edward reassured her quietly. "No one got hurt. Don't be anxious."

"You didn't tell her anything at all, did you? Is that why you took her away? So she wouldn't know that—"

"Leave now." Edward cut him off, his face full of rage. I could see he was fighting to keep his temper under control. I didn't like the look he was giving Jacob.

"Why haven't you told her?" demanded Jacob.

They stood facing off with one another, both of their faces were hard and the glares steely. I could hear the mumble of the crowd as they anticipated a fight. The words Edward and Jacob had exchanged would not have traveled to the crowd, but the speculation was frightening.

Each small group of students were wagering who would win in a fist fight. Others were speculating what they were fighting about. The rest were amazed at the sheer size of the Quileute kid and how 'Cullen' as they so often referred to him was audaciously standing up to him.

Way to stay inconspicuous!

Bella looked as though she was doing some speculation of her own. She looked scared, nervous and angry. I wasn't sure which was more predominant. Bella's shocked gasps could be heard clearly from where I was stood, but I wasn't sure whether those around me could hear it. Bella's face drained of color and her body began to shake furiously from pure fear. I could tell because her trademark wide eyes were present.

"She came back for me." She finally said. Her terror was causing her voice to tremble.

Edward pulled her closer to him and stroked her face gently. His word were barely audible. He looked up at Jacob quickly.

"Does that answer your question, mongrel?"

"You don't think Bella has a right to know?" Jacob knew he had the upper hand and his voice was marred with arrogance. "It's her life."

"Why should she be frightened if she was never in danger?" Edward's voice was losing volume, I saw the crowd moving in closer trying to hear what they were saying to one another.

"Better frightened than lied to." Jacob spat angrily.

Bella's tears spilled over her eyes and slid down her cheeks, she had said nothing since her revelation. I wanted to head over to them and comfort her but I knew that it would make Jacob more nervous, and that wouldn't be a good thing, especially with the crowd that was growing around them.

Edward wiped her tears from her cheeks with his thumb gently. "Do you think that hurting her is better than protecting her?" Edward asked, his voice more even. I hated that they were talking about her as though she wasn't stood with them.

"She's tougher than you think." Jacob said, the arrogance still present and accounted for. "And she's been through worse."

Edward's face immediately contorted into a cringe, it looked as though he was in physical pain. I didn't need his ability to know what Jacob was doing. He was sinking to a new low, even for a mangy mutt, which was exactly what he was.

"That's funny," Jacob laughed, but Bella was glaring at him.

As Edward's face smoothed out and he brought himself back to full height, Bella glanced between the two of them.

"What are you doing to him?" she demanded of Jacob, but his sneer was still directed at Edward.

Edward cringed again, the agony once again visible, even to me from the distance at which I was stood.

"Stop it! Whatever you're doing." Bella was practically hissing at him.

"Sure, if you want. It's his own fault if he doesn't like the things I remember though."

Bella's eyes could have started a fire with the intensity at which she glanced at Jacob. His face immediately dropped, but he was no longer my concern. I could hear the principle coming, and I knew Edward had heard him too.

"The principal's on his way to discourage loitering on school property." Edward now directed his attention to Bella, "Let's get to English, Bella, so you're not involved."

"Overprotective, isn't he?" Jacob aimed at Bella, "A little trouble makes life fun. Let me guess, you're not allowed to have fun, are you?"

I could see the snarl forming in Edward's mouth. '_Head's up Edward, principal's almost here._' I shouted in my head. Edward's eyes scanned the crowd and locked on me.

"Shut up, Jake." Bella almost growled herself.

"That sounds like a _no_. Hey, if you ever feel like having a life again, you could come see me. I've still got your motorcycle in my garage."

"You were supposed to sell that. You promised Charlie you would."

"Yeah, right. Like I would do that. It belongs to you, not me. Anyway, I'll hold on to it until you want it back." It was almost like Jacob had forgotten that he was in the middle of an argument.

"Jake . . ."

Jacob leaned in towards Bella, his angry face was flattening out as he looked only at her, it wasn't hard to tell that this boy had fallen hard. This, I was sure, would end up being a problem.

His voice was faint as his spoke quietly to her, but I was paying more attention to the principal, who was heading in this direction.

'_Edward, I'll talk to you at lunch, the principal's here._' I said loudly in my mind. His head once again shot up and he looked at me and nodded. His arms were tight around Bella.

I turned and disappeared in the direction of my class. There was no point in two Cullen's being reprimanded for their behavior, when Edward had enough attention of his own. The whole school was buzzing with what had happened. I tried to ignore them as I slid into class. I sat down and threw open my book.

Jacob was going to be trouble. It was easy to see how he felt about Bella, but Bella was devoted to Edward. This itself seemed to make Jacob all the more persistent. And being blind, I had no idea what he was planning next.

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**A/N: Okay, a little bit of wrestling, I thought I would give Rosalie the upper hand because it seems like she could kick some butt when needed. Sorry about the wait, I was intending to add another chapter yesterday, but I've had a nasty cold the last couple of days and ended up falling asleep "Cue Violin" lol.**

**Thank you for your Reviews and Alerts, YOU GUYS ROCK! Thank you for everything. Till tomorrow. -L  
**


	6. Chapter 6 The Bribe

_**The Twilight Universe belongs to the talented Stephenie Meyer**_

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**Chapter 6 - The Bribe.**

The week, thankfully, flew by with no more drama. Jacob hadn't reappeared since his unwelcome visit on Monday. Things had gone back to normal, well mostly. Bella had picked up her argument more ferociously than ever, she tried to convince us to change her now, she didn't want to wait until graduation.

The Victoria situation had scared her and she was refusing to be the weak link any longer. I knew this was why Edward hadn't wanted to tell her about my vision, but I couldn't help thinking it had been a huge mistake. If we'd have told her she probably would be so scared right now.This had gone on all week, we'd all tried to reassure her but she would get frustrated at us and cross her arms in defiance.

Her begging finally slowed towards the end of the week, I knew that she was tired of our repetitive answers, but she was realizing that her nagging would get her the same answer and we were all going around in circles. By the weekend she had all but stopped. I think this was partly due to Edward leaving on a hunting trip with his brothers. She didn't want to spend their time together arguing.

The boys were going hunting, Bella, after having me double check that nothing out of the ordinary was going to happen, had convinced Edward to go. He'd been hunting close to home and it was beginning to show. His eyes were pitch black and the purple shadows under his eyes made it look like he'd taken up boxing. In the early hours of saturday morning I practically had to push him out the door. He had come home from Bella's house looking torn. I knew he didn't want to leave her alone, but his thirst was obviously becoming a problem, it wasn't often I saw his eyes so dark.

"Will you just go already." I told him, my hands were on my hips and my legs were planted. I'd had enough of him being stubborn. Jasper was stood beside me. he looked like he was holding back a chuckle. i shot him a look.

"Alright, Alice. Just call me if you see _anything_."

"Edward, seriously, I'm not going to promise again. Twelve times is enough. Now go, and don't forget to keep your phone on vibrate."

Edward smiled and headed out to the car. I spun on Jasper and tapped my foot playfully. He'd been waiting to say goodbye for twenty minutes whilst Edward had been obsessively making me promise to call if anything happened.

Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too." I laughed and kissed him on the lips. "Now get out of here before Edward finds an excuse to make me promise, again."

Jasper laughed and ran out to the Jeep where Edward and Emmett were waiting. He hopped into the back and winked at me as Emmett hit the gas. I watched as the Jeep slid through the grass as Emmett punched the gas. I shook my head at the sight, Esme wasn't going to thank him for ripping up her grass.

"So," Esme asked as she came around the corner with Rosalie, "you got him to go?"

"Yeah, barely." I sighed as I closed the door. "He's really nervous about leaving her. I know it all stems from leaving last September, but this seems a little extreme."

"I think he's still worried about the werewolf kid." Rosalie said making her way into the living room.

"Look, we have to let him make his own mistakes, just like we have to let Bella make hers. Edward, as much as he hates to admit it, blames himself for the friendship between the two of them. It's hard to compete with the person who picked up his mess." Esme sighed sadly. She brushed some of my hair from my face gently.

"He told you about that?" I asked sitting next to Rosalie.

"Yes, he was upset. Some of the things the Jacob boy showed him in his head has haunted him all week. Apparently, he has the image of Bella, the night he broke it off with her, the night she was found in the woods. It wasn't a pretty sight from what he was telling me. Bella was found in the woods curled up into herself soaking wet, shivering, and mumbling 'He's gone.' She was incoherent. Edward hasn't been taking it well."

"Did that really happen?" Rosalie asked, pulling her knees to her chest. The look on her face told me she hadn't quite understood the devastation Bella had gone through when we left. I only had what Charlie had told me to go on. I had been sure, at the time that he had been editing, this made my assumption correct. I shuddered at the image that imprinted on my mind.

Esme nodded sadly.

"I can't believe we let him do that." I sighed. I hated bringing it up, but the consequences were down to all of us.

"Well, it's too late for regrets now." Rosalie said, twisting a gold lock around her finger. She was right. There was nothing we could do to change the past.

The day seemed long with none of the guys around, they had been gone barely three hours and we were bored. Rosalie and I were curled up on either end of the couch watching movies the guys would never watch with us. Esme was remodeling one of the guest rooms. This was a lazy Saturday for us, we were normally out doing something, but I was on Bella watch and Rosalie had no one else to go out with.

I closed my eyes and checked on Bella, I had promised to stay especially watchful while Edward was away. I had seen nothing out of the ordinary for this weekend, but I gave my word so I stuck to it. It was nothing interesting. Bella was getting ready for work. She was moping without Edward. I decided I would drop in at Newton's later on in the afternoon to cheer her up.

"What's Bella doing?" Rosalie laughed.

"That obvious?" I asked. Rosalie just nodded. I sighed and retrained my eyes to the television. It was quiet today. There really was nothing to do. Everyone in Italy seemed preoccupied on some scandal in Romania, Victoria had disappeared, once again, and Bella, it seemed, was headed to work.

"Next time we move, we have to find somewhere with something more exciting to do." Rosalie sighed.

"Oh, come on Rose, are you telling me that a pack of young werewolves, a rogue nomad and the Volturi guard, just aren't exciting enough for you?"

"You forgot the wild newborn in Seattle, Alice!" Rosalie said rolling her eyes, a large smirk on her lips.

"It's just because Emmett's not here." I said laughing.

'Yeah, you're right." Sighed Rosalie. She found her husband highly entertaining, mostly due to the fact that she could manipulate him into doing practically anything she wanted. Within reason. Rosalie was the only person in the universe that could get away with it, and she knew it.

I stared at the television as the story continued on, it was one of our favorite 80's movies. The type that was set in a high school that you would be happy to attend, but doesn't exist. The stories with the happy endings. The 80's wasn't Rosalie's favorite decade, but it was her favorite movie decade.

I was interrupted from my reverie when I began getting flickers, it was a vision. It was Bella, but this time it came to me. Mrs. Newton had told Bella she didn't need her to work, and Bella was trying to decide what she was going to do, she was carrying a stack of fliers in her hand and making her way to the dumpster. She looked down at the brightly colored paper and froze. There, on the distastefully yellow paper was a picture of a wolf howling and the words in bold printed above it said **SAVE THE OLYMPIC WOLF**. I knew exactly what decision she had made. She was in her truck, the fliers flying around the cab as she headed towards the treaty line.

"DAMMIT!" I shouted and jumped up from the couch.

Rosalie eyes flickered to me in shock.

"What?"

"Bella, dammit why do we always have to be right?" I said as I picked up the Volvo keys and my cell phone and ran towards the garage. Rose was behind me in an instant. We both hopped into the car and I pulled out of the garage quickly, the car slid as I reversed quickly, as I turned the wheel I slammed it into gear and slammed on the gas. The tires screamed and a billow of smoke was left behind us.

"Are you planning on telling me what's going on or do I have to guess?" asked Rosalie, looking impressed with the little performance driving I had displayed.

"Bella's heading towards the treaty line, she's going to see the dog." I said pulling out my phone.

I was flying down the road in a matter of seconds and I had the phone to my ear. It was ringing.

"Alice?" Edward's voice was almost panicked.

"Yeah, sorry to disturb you Edward, Bella has decided to visit her friend, I'm on the road now trying to get to her before she' reaches the treaty line."

There was silence from the other end of the phone, I knew that Edward was either pinching the bridge of his nose or roughly running his hand through his hair. Trademark annoyance.

"Edward!" I yelled into the phone.

"I'm here." He sighed heavily.

"Just stay on the line, if we don't get to her in time, we'll come and get you."

"Okay, thanks, Alice."

I handed the phone to Rosalie and she held it up to her ear. I could see Bella's truck ahead in the distance, she was quickly approaching the treaty line. I had a distinct feeling we weren't going to make it. I pushed down harder on the gas, and the Volvo groaned and lurched at the sudden decision. Rosalie and I were thrown back into our seats as we picked up speed. We were gaining on Bella, she was around the next curve, but that was closer to the line than I liked to get. As I rounded the corner I saw her truck disappear across the line.

"Crap!" I shouted and both of my feet were on the brakes. The car whined as it slid closer to the treaty line. The sound of the rubber on the asphalt made a screaming sound, and I could see the double black lines from the tires painted onto the road behind us. The Volvo shuddered to a stop and Rosalie looked at me, her eyebrows high on her forehead.

I ground the gears into reverse and hit the gas again, the car shot back quickly, I turned the wheel and slammed on the break, once again, before the car had stopped moving I threw it into drive and took off the way we had just come. The wheels pan and the end swerved as it corrected itself, I pressed down harder on the gas.

"Holy crow, Alice. When did you start driving like a vampire?" Rosalie laughed.

I smirked and held out my hand for the phone. She placed it in my hand, her head shaking.

"Edward?" I said into the phone.

"I heard the effort." Edward sighed, "And I appreciate it. Can you come get me?"

"Sure, where are you?"

"I'm with Emmett!"

"Goat rock then." I laughed. "Wait for us at the Jeep, Rosalie knows where he parks."

"Thanks, Alice." Edward said appreciatively.

"We'll be there soon." I assured him and snapped the phone shut.

Rosalie was still smiling.

"What?" I asked grinning at her.

"Now you have earned the right to drive _my_ car." she laughed. "That, was awesome."

I laughed and hit the gas, for the way she looked, Rosalie had perfected being a tomboy. Cars were her passion, one of the few interests she shared with Edward. The only difference was, she could fix them as well as she could drive them.

We made it to Goat Rock in record time, I had been pushing the car to extremes. Rosalie had tried to persuade me to race her one night. I loved cars but racing the speed demon that was Rosalie seemed like a pointless task. She had made so many modifications to her BMW that it was practically track ready, and if a cop knew what he was looking for, he would demand she never drove it on the road. It had the engine of a NASCAR in it.

I slid to a stop next to the jeep and Edward hopped out. Rosalie got out of the car.

"See you later, Alice. I'm going to go mess with Emmett."

"Bye, Rosalie, thanks for riding with me."

Rosalie grinned and nodded, she looked at Edward and he pointed her in the right direction. I hopped into the passenger seat and smiled as Edward climbed in.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. I really did try." I said.

"I heard." Edward grinned and threw the car in reverse.

The first part of the drive was quiet. Edward pushed the Volvo at the same speeds as I had trying to get to him. I sat fiddling with the CD player, there was nothing on the radio and I hadn't thought to pick up any CD's for my impromptu drive. I pressed the button and the sound died away.

"So," Edward asked, his tone even. "What happened?"

I sighed and turned in my seat to look at him. "Well, she got ready for work, headed in, and then Mrs. Newton said she didn't need her. I would have called her and invited her over, but her decision was made so quickly. She was taking some fliers to the dumpster and when she looked at them, they were about saving the Olympic Wolf, I didn't even need to see her decision after that, I just jumped in the car and headed after her. I got close but she was over the line and I really don't think we need to break that."

"You did the right thing, and thanks for coming to get me."

I shrugged my shoulders. "She's my friend too."

"I know, I also know that you think I'm being overprotective."

"That's your decision to make, Edward." I said smiling, but my smile faded. Edward looked conflicted, like he wanted to talk to me. I tried prodding him in my mind with the usual, 'you can talk to me' and 'What's on your mind?' but I gave it a rest until he looked like he was going to talk. I waited patiently, I knew it was hard for him to confide in anyone.

"Alice," Edward said my name and hung his head.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I want you to keep this between us, I know you're the only one who I can talk to about this and not have it held over my head."

"You have my word."

"I'm worried for Bella's safety, but you're right. I am jealous." Edward sighed and looked out of his window. I knew how much it had taken him to admit that.

"It's perfectly normal, Edward. I think you'd be crazy not to be."

Edward frowned at me briefly as he sped around a Honda Accord. The trees were flying past us at phenomenal speeds. I thought about how to continue.

"If you weren't jealous, you'd be taking her for granted."

"What do you mean?"

"It means you don't just expect her to be there, even though you know beyond a reasonable doubt that she loves you, you aren't past fighting for her. She knows that, that's why she fought for you."

"Fought for me?"

"Italy, why do you think she was so determined to get to you, even when she thought you didn't love her. It was because she loved you too much to let you go. She was willing to put herself through that pain, in her mind she thought you would push her away again the first chance you got."

Edward contemplated this in silence, I could see him thinking about my words. They may not have been exactly what I wanted to say, but I knew that he would get the right meaning from them. We drove the rest of the way in silence, it didn't take us long to get there, Edward was driving with the needle all the way to the right of the dial. He pulled up to the house and turned off the car. we sat in silence again, it seemed he was trying to decide what he wanted to do. I could see where he was going as soon as I got out of the car, and when his future disappeared I knew I had to break the silence.

"Do not break that treaty line, Edward. I can see it, you need to wait for her on this side of it. She'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

"It was just a thought. I don't think I ever would. I'm just worried, Alice."

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

'Fight for her." Edward sighed. "It's the only thing I know how to do. This is all my doing. If I had never left, she wouldn't have needed someone to pick up the pieces. I made the mess, I need to clean it up."

"You going to wait for her?" I could see now that he'd settled on this decision.

"Yeah, I'll call you later."

I got out of the car and watched him as he drove down the driveway. I hoped that what I had said would sink. I knew that Bella loved him more than he could comprehend, but I hoped the damage hadn't already been done. Esme appeared at the door, there was a look of concern on her face and I knew I would have to explain. I ran up to the house slowly, and guided her inside.

Edward came back to change that night and explained that the two of them had talked it through, Bella had even asked whether he was jealous. He finally admitted to me he was, I couldn't understand why he wouldn't admit it to her. It could be the one thing that could help her to understand, no matter how irrational she would think it was.

By Monday we were back at school and almost everything had returned to normal, Angela was, of course, indebted to Bella for helping her address the stack of envelopes. There seemed to be a slight level of understanding between Bella and Angela now, it didn't take a genius to understand that Bella had, to some extent, had girl talk with her. Now it was my turn to be jealous, but it was a jealousy I would never voice. I knew that I _was_ being irrational, I would have an eternity of friendship with Bella. It still hurt a little though.

Tuesday, after school, Bella had to work. Edward dropped her at her house so she could pick up her truck. That was unusual, seeing as he normally took her to work and picked her up, but as soon as she had disappeared into the house he took off and grinned at me.

That's when I saw it, The yellow Porsche, Turbo, with a black interior and tinted windows.

"Are you serious, Edward?" I gasped.

Edward grinned at me and nodded. "There's a slight favor I wanted to ask you, which is why I've decided to give it to you now."

I crossed my arms and looked at him. I knew he'd ordered the Porsche, he'd done it soon after we'd returned from Italy so he could have it custom made. It was being held at the dealership for him. I'd been trying to convince him to give it to me since it arrived. I was sure he'd enjoyed torturing me with it.

"Okay, the terms?"

"I was hoping you could maybe keep Bella occupied whenever I leave."

"Edward, that's a little controlling don't you think, kidnaping your girlfriend so she won't visit her friend?"

"Well, I'm hoping you won't kidnap her, maybe just entertain her."

I knew it was wrong but I kept seeing the Porsche as the vision replayed over and over for me. I could make it fun, maybe she and I could bond. I could do some research on the internet and we could have a girls night.

"Fine, but on one condition."

"Condition? I thought the car was the condition?" he laughed.

"Well, yeah for me it is, but this condition is for Bella."

"Okay, which is?"

"Where are you going to have her sleep?"

"Point taken!" he laughed.

The ride into Seattle didn't take long, as always Edward had a lead foot, and more than ever I didn't mind. He pulled in slowly to the dealership and turned off his engine.

"You ready for this?" he asked a grin spreading across his face.

I nodded enthusiastically. He got out if the car and I hopped out and followed him. He stopped by an office and gave the attendant a slip of paper. The face of the attendant lit up and handed Edward a set of keys.

Edward spun around and handed me the key. I followed him to a storage building that was located off of the main building and he pulled the door open.

There, sat at the front, was my beautiful, yellow Porsche. It was almost like it was calling my name. I looked at Edward in disbelief and he nodded. I darted towards the car and hit the alarm disarm button on the key chain, it chirped happily to life, the parking lights flashed. I opened the door and the smell of the new leather washed over me. I breathed it in happily and slid in behind the wheel. I ran my hand over every line on the dash and rubbed the leather gently with my hand. It was perfect in every way. I knew he had to have gone by my memory of the car, because each detail had been so articulately perfect.

Edward strode to the door and leaned in. "Start the engine, I want to show you something." he grinned.

I put the key in the ignition and twisted it. The engine purred to life and I shuddered from happiness. I couldn't believe this was mine. The gentle humming was music to my ears. I stepped on the gas and the car growled lovingly. It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard, and it was mine.

Edward pointed to the odometer on the dash. The characters read -00000000-. This was highly unusual, it was rare to get a car with no miles, at all on it. I knew he'd put a lot of effort into making this perfect for me.

I gasped and looked at Edward. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"I knew that you'd always wanted a car with that on it, so it was never driven." he smiled.

I hopped out of the car and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Thank you." I whispered as I stepped back and stroked the car happily.

"You're welcome, I'm going to go and buy a bed. You take that thing home. Oh, and Carlisle said don't drive it around Forks."

I nodded and climbed in again. I put it in gear and pulled slowly out of the building. The attendant watched carefully as I pulled towards the exit. I looked in my rear view, Edward was grinning and shaking his head. I felt like I was floating, it was so smooth it felt more like gliding along the asphalt. My exhilaration was intangible. I pulled out onto the freeway and gunned the engine, dropping into second and then third, I continued through the gears. I was a yellow bullet to anyone looking. This baby flew. Now I was ready to race Rosalie. I rolled down the window and screamed happily.

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**A/N: Sorry, this came out more of a filler chapter, not my best work. **

**Thank you to the Reviewers and all the alerts . . . YOU ROCK.**

**Big hugs :)**

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	7. Chapter 7 Escape

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesome stephenie Meyer**_

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**Chapter 7 - Escape**

I rolled up to the house and pulled to a stop honking my horn obnoxiously. Jasper was the first out of the door. The grin in his face was apparent, and I was sure that mine matched his.

He climbed in the passenger door and leaned over to kiss me.

"Yep, Edward outdid himself this time." He laughed as he pressed the button on the radio.

"It came with a slight price." I laughed.

Jasper rose his eyebrows and laughed. "And what was that?"

"Let's just say, you shouldn't have a problem with a flighty Bella whilst you're hunting anymore."

"Alice," Jasper chuckled as he programmed in his favorite radio station.

"I'll make it fun for her." I offered. This only made him laugh harder.

Rosalie came strolling out of the house hand-in-hand with Emmett. She was grinning too. She pointed to the hood and I leant down and popped it open. She prodded around under there, she took an painstakingly intricate look into the inner workings of a Porsche engine. She closed the hood and then grinned at me.

"Definitely a turbo." she laughed.

Emmett was eyeing the car suspiciously. "It's so small, I don't think I'll even be able to get in it." he laughed.

I got out of the car and grinned. "Try it, you might be surprised."

Emmett laughed and made his way to my door. I stepped out of the way and watched as he lowered himself into the car. He fit in perfectly.

"See." I smiled.

Emmett chuckled and got out of the car. Rosalie ventured around and slid in easily. She started tampering with some of the buttons. She looked up at me, her eyes were wide open. I knew what she wanted. Rosalie had a look when she wanted something, and the look didn't give you much opportunity to say no, so I gave in before it got embarrassing.

"Fine, you have an hour." I laughed. I was just happy I was able to put the first miles on the car.

'Emmett, get in." she laughed clapping her hands and pulling the door shut. "Thanks, Alice."

I waved them off and jumped into Jasper's arms, the excitement was still coursing through me. He caught me quickly.

"So you're babysitting this weekend?" Jasper laughed happily.

I kissed him on the lips and then the tip of his nose.

"No, actually we're having a slumber party. That's what I'm officially calling it."

Jasper laughed and nuzzled his face into my neck happily. I ran my hands through his blond hair.

"You gonna go for a ride with me when Rosalie gets back?" I asked, barely above a whisper.

Jasper's head shot up and he looked at me incredulously with his eyebrows raised. I threw my head back and laughed. Jasper stole the chance to kiss my neck. I untangled myself and slid down to the ground.

"Okay, do you want to go for a _drive_ with me when Rosalie gets back?" I grinned.

"Where?" He asked linking his fingers through mine.

"Mexican border and back, I want to stretch her legs."

Jasper chuckled again. "_Her_? You're starting to sound like Rosalie."

I rolled my eyes and ran to the house, pulling Jasper along with me.

"Why are we going inside?"

"I need to change into something more suitable."

"Alice, it's a car."

"It's a pretty car Jasper."

That night we took our drive down to the Mexican border, it was a beautiful drive to take at night, and the car flew. We took the coast all the way down. Jasper had filled his iPod with all of our favorite songs, we'd bought a converter on the way out of town, there was a radio shack in Hoquiam. We were singing along with the radio, windows open and the sea breeze blowing through our hair. My mental radar detector was keeping an eye out as we almost tripled the speed limit through the three states. From the outside I was sure we looked like a yellow blur, but the feel was exhilarating. It was perfect, I had the love of my life sat in my new favorite object. I couldn't have been happier.

Wednesday, flew by in a blur, all I could think about was driving my car again. Rosalie had already called me twice begging to take the car out. This was when I hated liking my family so much, I always had such a hard time saying no. I had said no the first time, but I agreed the second, she'd promised to pick me some things up from the mall of America in Minneapolis. I caved to brides, obviously.

Bella watched me as I bounced around at lunch, I was fidgeting in my seat constantly, I couldn't keep still. Edward kept shooting me looks and then laughing, much to the amusement of the rest of the table. Angela, who was sitting next to me looked a little nervous, but I couldn't help myself. It was in my nature.

Edward's playfulness subsided when Bella asked what was wrong with me. Edward had shot me a look and then explained to Bella that I had been expecting a delivery that was due to arrive today. That seemed to satiate her curiosity. I knew that Edward was planning on keeping my car under wraps until after he'd gone. He didn't want her figuring out why he'd given me the car early. I tried to control my excitement as I pushed my food around my plate, willing time to speed up a little.

I was ready to explode by the time I got home, Jasper was waiting for me on the porch grinning. I slid to a stop in front of the steps and hopped up them to give him a kiss. His waiting for me was now an every day occurrence, one I looked forward to. I enjoyed the fact that the first thing I saw when I got home was his handsome face, smiling at me.

"Let me get a list together and then we can go." I sang as I danced past him into the house.

"A list for what?" Jasper asked grinning at my enthusiasm.

"Slumber party." I answered as I shot up the stairs.

Edward's bed had been delivered late yesterday evening, he'd asked me to find a comforter that would match the decor in his room and I'd agreed. It was an excellent excuse to drive my car. One of the reasons he knew I would be more than willing to go. We were staying close, this was Jasper's request because he had a paper due and hadn't worked on it since I'd gotten the car. I also had a bad habit of distracting him. This is where I would ask what he does all day whilst I'm at school. A sly grin would normally be the reply.

We got to Seattle quickly and I was able to fill my list, I knew Edward's tastes well and I knew the roundabout style that he wanted to match with the bed. I was so good that I was able to do all of the required shopping and get home before Edward. He would usually come home to drop the car off, it was all a show for Charlie, who was holding up like a fortress with his hostility, something that Bella believed was unfair. In her eyes he'd payed his debt and things should be back to normal by now. I tried to explain to Bella that it was Charlie's way of protecting her, he didn't want her to get hurt again. This would normally earn me a snort and an eye roll from Bella.

After Edward dropped off his car, he would then run back to the Swan house and spend the night with Bella. but not before spending at least an hour with us. Unless Bella was at the house with him, we barely got to see him. None of us would complain about the lack of his company because he was so happy. Not one of us ever wanted a repeat of last time. We would all suffer if Edward ever had a cause for a mood like that again, as long as he had Bella, that would never be an issue. So until she was changed, she was precious cargo to us.

I always saw Edward's decision to come home, so I wasn't surprised to see it tonight. I was so attuned to him it was difficult to ignore his decisions.

It was also becoming apparent that Bella's decisions were appearing alone now, because I saw the decision she made as Edward left.

She decided to call Jacob and explained that she would come and see him on Saturday because Edward was hunting. She picked up the phone and consequentially disappeared.

I shook my head, she was sneaky. I knew I would have to warn Edward, even though I was going to be with her, I wasn't sure what she would try. I had checked over the next couple of days and I saw her with me clearly in each of them. But Bella was clever, after all, she had been able to escape from Jasper and I in Phoenix, and it was a situation I didn't want to repeat.

Edward came in slowly and grinned at me. I'd left the comforter at the bottom of the stairs for him.

"Thanks, Alice." He said picking up the bag and heading towards the stairs.

"Edward." I called, he spun on the first step and looked at me.

"I had a vision."

"Okay." A concerned crease appeared on his brow as he waited for me to continue.

"About, Bella."

Edward frowned deeper and walked towards me.

"She called Jacob after you left and made plans with him on Saturday. She disappeared when she called him, but I saw her decision before she had even picked up the phone."

Edward's shoulders slumped and he ran his hands through his hair in his aggravation.

"She'll be with me, but I thought you would want to know." I said in confidence. I had been checking to see of any changes, but there were none. On Saturday, Bella would safely be with me. This was because I had made the decision to stop her.

A smile broke out on Edward's face, but something told me it was nothing to do with the vision I had just replayed in my head. There was still the pain and concern behind his eyes.

"Edward?"

"Can you arrange for her to stay, tomorrow and Friday night instead?" he asked.

I smiled at him, I knew now what he was planning. "You're leaving tomorrow?"

He nodded and laughed. "It'll throw her plans off and I'll be home by Saturday afternoon."

"I think I can arrange that." I grinned deviously.

I know that kidnapping my best friend and deceiving her wasn't the nicest thing to do, but I knew it would be for the best. It would keep her safe, and give Edward his piece of mind. There was really nothing in it for Bella, but I knew that for right now it was our only option.

Edward disappeared to speak to Emmett and Jasper and I headed towards Esme, I needed her help to convince Charlie. We had twenty four hours to arrange this.

Bella had work after school on Thursday so Esme had plenty of time to work her magic, she called Charlie and asked whether Bella could come to the slumber party, she explained the boys were out of town, and Charlie caved in, he could never resist the Cullen women. I headed over to Bella's and picked up some clothes for her. I included her toiletry bag and some pajamas. I had enough time to arrange them at home before I had to pick her up from work.

I grabbed one of the CD's I bought to listen to whilst I was driving the Porsche and headed to the Volvo. I was so tempted to take the Porsche, but I knew Carlisle's condition. I sped towards Newton's and threw the CD in the player. I flicked through the songs until I reached my favorite, I turned the volume up. I liked the mirrors to shake with the beat. I pulled up outside of Newton's and sat waiting. I was five minutes early so I waited patiently. Repeating the song once it had ended.

I sang along with the song, I had always listened to music too loud when I was driving. Carlisle had, on more than one occasion, made me promise to keep my phone in my pocket on vibrate so I would know it was ringing whilst I was driving. It was a bad habit, but I enjoyed it.

I saw Bella head out of the store and head towards the Volvo. There would be no doubt who was in the car waiting for her. I knew Edward would never listen to the music this loud. I pushed the door open for her as my song went in to the chorus. I sang along with it. Bella climbed in the car.

"Hey, Alice," I could barely hear her over the music. She would have to wait until after the chorus before I answered her. "Where's your brother?"

Bella closed the door and placed her hand over her ears. I laughed and turned it down, I knew how much the way I listened to music bothered some people. I left it as background music. As soon as Bella's seatbelt was on I hit the locks and the gas at the same time and sped out of the parking lot leaving a slight squeal from the tires behind me.

"What's going on?" Bella asked, her voice growing a little suspicious. "Where is Edward?"

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to stay nonchalant, "They left early."

"Oh." Bella's attempt at calm indifference was worse than mine. Disappointment could be seen on her face and heard in every sound she uttered.

"All the boys went, and we're having a slumber party!" I sang, I was trying to amp up the enthusiasm.

"A slumber party?"

"Aren't you excited?"

We looked at one another for a long moment, it appeared I was just as bad a liar as she was.

"You're kidnapping me, aren't you?"

I laughed and nodded my head trying to keep the mood light. "Till Saturday. Esme cleared it with Charlie; you're staying with me two nights, and I will drive you to and from school tomorrow."

Bella looked out of the window, her jaw locked in her frustration.

"Sorry," I said plainly. "He Paid me off."

"How?" the question came as a hiss as Bella pushed it through her teeth.

"The Porsche. It's exactly like the one I stole in Italy." I said sighing, I was trying to keep the happiness from my voice. Bella was in a bad mood now, but I knew that she would be fine once she got over it. "I'm not supposed to drive it in Forks, but if you want, we could see how long it takes to get from here to L.A. — I bet I could get you back by midnight."

"I think I'll pass," Bella sighed, I 'd forgotten her aversion to high speeds.

I continued on to the house and pulled around to the garage. I pulled the Volvo in and got out, Bella was looking at the Porsche. I skipped towards it and ran my hand down the length of it. I loved the feel of the new clean car under my hands.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

"Pretty over-the-top." Bella mumbled unhappily. "He gave you _that_ just for two days of holding me hostage?"

Crap, crap, _crap_!

Bella stared at me for a while before comprehension blanketed her and her face dropped. "It's for every time he's gone, isn't it?"

I nodded.

Bella slammed the Volvo door and stomped towards the house angrily. I caught up with her and walked to the house with her.

"Alice, you don't think this is a little bit controlling? Just a tiny bit psychotic, maybe?"

"Not really, you don't seem to grasp how dangerous a young werewolf can be. Especially when I can't see them. Edward has no way to know if you're safe. You shouldn't be so reckless." I had decided to stick with Edward's side of the argument. It was all she needed to know.

"Yes," she spat, her tones acidic. "Because a vampire slumber party is the pinnacle of safety conscious behavior."

I laughed, she did have a point. "I'll give you a pedicure and everything." I promised.

I got a humph in return as Bella sped up and stomped into the house.

I kept my word and gave Bella a manicure and a pedicure, I had checked on the correct procedures online, the benefits of a photographic memory, I could speed read through anything and have it memorized immediately.

Bella, by the end of it all, seemed to be having a little fun, she wiggled her toes as I pulled out the little foam molds that were holding her toes apart so I could paint them and they would dry without smudging.

Esme had brought Italian food from Port Angeles for her. Edward had suggested mushroom ravioli, but Esme had cringed at the idea of Bella eating a form of fungus, no matter how tasty she seemed to find it.

I had been to the local video store and picked up all of Bella's favorite movies, it was quite an eclectic range. I was proud. Even Rosalie hung about quietly watching as the strange female ritual unfolded.

"How late do you want to stay up?" I asked.

"I don't want to stay up. We have school in the morning." Bella said still trying to hold the pout that she was using to hide tiny amount of fun she was having.

I returned the favor and pushed out my bottom lip.

"Where am I supposed to sleep, anyway?" Bella whined. "Can't you just keep me under surveillance at my house?"

"What kind of slumber party would that be?" I shook my head, she could be positive infuriating when she tried. "You're sleeping in Edward's room."

I could see her considering the sofa in the room. "Can I go back to my place and get my things, at least?"

I grinned happily, she should know me better than that by now. "Already taken care of."

"Am I allowed to use your phone?"

"Charlie knows where you are."

"I wasn't going to call Charlie," Bella frowned. "Apparently, I have some plans to cancel."

"Oh," I muttered, crap! I don't think Edward would be too happy about that. "I'm not sure about that."

"Alice," she whined again. "C'mon!"

"Okay, okay," I spun on my heel and headed out of the room quickly, should I call Edward and check or do I let it slide, maybe this is her giving up gracefully. I was back in the room now, my phone in hand. "He didn't _specifically_ prohibit this . . ." I sighed and handed her the phone.

Bella dialed a number and I stood panicking. I was having a battle in myself, wondering if this was the right thing to do.

"Hey, Jake, it's me." Bella said into the phone, her eyes were on me so I backed away and sat on the couch between Rosalie and Esme.

I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation, it was a low murmur, I was too far away, so I listened to the one ended conversation.

"Nothing good. I can't come over Saturday after all . . ." Bella listened intently and laughed, a glint in her eye, I knew she was aware of me listening. "I'm only laughing because you're close, but he's going to be here Saturday, so it doesn't matter . . . No. . . He left early." Bella's eyes wondered onto me briefly and then flickered back to her toes.

"I wish. I'm not at Charlie's, I'm kind of being held prisoner . . ." I was surprised at how open she was with him, it seemed she was closer to him than I had originally thought, ""Tempting. I _have_ been tortured — Alice painted my toenails."

I knew by the lightening of her tone, the dog had said something threatening. It was easy to read Bella, I knew she wouldn't do anything deliberately stupid, but this was almost provoking them to come here. In her playfulness, they could see opportunity, they were young after all.

"Don't be. They're just trying to keep me safe . . . I know it's silly, but their hearts are in the right place . . . sorry about Saturday, I've got to hit the sack but I'll call you again soon . . . Not completely . . . Night Jake."

She hung up the phone and I headed towards her, that was probably the single most stupid thing I had ever done. I held out my hand for the phone but when I looked down, Bella was dialing Edward's number. I knew that he had trusted me with Bella so he only planned to check his phone occasionally.

"I don't think he'll have his phone on him," I mentioned as I retracted my hand."

"I'll leave a message." her tone was razor sharp.

"You are in trouble." she said slowly and menacingly into the phone. "Enormous trouble. Angry grizzly bears are going to look tame next to what is waiting for you at home."

I raised my eyebrows and held out my hand again. She snapped the phone shut and placed it into my hand.

"I'm done."

I tried to hide the smirk that was threatening to dance onto my lips. That was an impressive show on Bella's part. I grinned happily.

"This hostage stuff is fun."

"I'm going to sleep now." Bella said stomping towards the stairs. I followed her quietly, not only did I want to see her reaction to the bed, I wanted to show her where her things were.

"Alice," she sighed. "I'm not going to sneak out. You would know if I was planning to, and you'd catch me if I tried."

"I'm just going to show you where your things are." I said. I was trying not to laugh, Bella had a tendency to become highly sarcastic when she was angry. I found it amusing, but I didn't want to appear rude.

We headed up the stairs to Edward's room on the third floor, I was moving at Bella's speed so it took a little longer to get there. Bella opened the door and flicked the light switch on. Her face was a picture, she actually did a double take. I giggled softly at her reaction.

She stood silently looking around the room, it was almost as though she was checking that everything was still in here and trying to place what had been moved.

"What the hell is this?" she said, her words almost tripping over themselves.

"You didn't really think he would make you sleep on the couch, did you?" I laughed lightly.

Bella mumbled, she was disgruntled and her words made no sense whatsoever.

"I'll give you some privacy." I laughed. "See you in the morning."

I pulled the door closed behind me and hurried downstairs. Rosalie and Esme were still in the couch watching one of the movies I'd picked up for Bella. Esme was lost in the story but Rosalie looked thoroughly bored. This wasn't unusual for Rosalie, she had a short attention span with movies, it really had to be something she liked to keep her attention. It was curious that movies had this effect on her, she was normally so articulate.

"What did she say?" Rosalie asked, her eyes twinkling. I knew she'd heard.

"She was . . . Surprised. I guess that's what I'd call it. But you know Bella, a bed means Edward spent money, so she's agitated."

Rosalie chuckled and got up slowly. "Do you think it'd be okay to go talk to her?"

"You'll have to ask her, Rosalie. But, you have to remember she's always been very open to being your friend so, I wouldn't think she'd have a problem with it." I smiled.

Rosalie nodded and headed up the stairs, I knew she was heading directly to Edward's room, but she was taking her time. Bella was still stomping around angrily in upstairs and her grumbling was humorous.

After a quiet know on the door, Bella had told me to go away, but Rosalie had announced herself, and Bella's quiet timidness made me laugh. It showed the large comparison between the friendships. Bella was receptive to Rosalie's request to talk. I knew she would be, she could be stubborn at times and a little moody, but she was mostly sweet. I tried not to eavesdrop on the conversation. Rosalie was very guarded about her past. We'd each heard it, but only once. She didn't like talking about it all that much, and I really couldn't blame her, it was a hard past to remember.

It had taken a lot to move past it and I really could understand, those kind of assaults, in my book, were just under murder on the list of heinous acts.

I cuddled next to Esme and tried to concentrate on the movie. They would be talking fr a while, and then, I was sure, Bella would fall asleep.

On the way to school the next morning, Bella's mood hadn't improved. She was staring out of the windshield and her arms were crossed tightly against her chest. I tried to keep my mouth shut. I hadn't seen her in such a dark mood in a while, I knew she would easily be agitated, even though it was a Friday.

"Tonight we'll go out to Olympia or something," I said trying to lighten her mood. "That'll be fun, right?"

"Why don't you just lock me in the basement." she snapped angrily, "and forget the sugar coating."

Ouch, she was in a worse mood than I'd thought, maybe I could guilt her out of it. I could feel the frown crease my forehead. "He's going to take the Porsche back. I'm not doing a very good job. You're supposed to be having fun."

"It's not your fault," she sighed as we pulled into the parking lot, she got out of the car and turned to me. "I'll see you at lunch."

I sat through my first class feeling guilty about the mood Bella was in, I knew I was supposed to be entertaining her, and I knew that she was missing Edward. There had to be a way that I could entertain her until Edward gets back. There had to be something to get her out of this foul mood. I was thinking of anything that could get her to alter her mood. Anything, that is, short of taking her home. As the bell rang I gathered my things and headed towards my next class.

I heard it before I saw it. I was close to the cafeteria when the sound reached my ears. It was a motorcycle, and it was familiar. It was also getting closer. In my panic I checked the future, but I was too late. I heard Jacob Black's booming voice as he pulled into the parking lot.

"Run, Bella!"

Bella's future disappeared, I looked up and caught her eye as she jumped on the back of the bike, I knew how dark my eyes must be and I could feel the curl of my lips. I was stuck, there was nothing I could do. There were too many people around to stop her. I could feel my anger boiling below the surface. She was gone in a second. The whole school was watching the bike as it disappeared. I pulled out my phone, How was I going to break this to Edward?

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**A/N: I Forgot to mention, I made a save the olympic wolf poster in photoshop, link is on my profile :)**

**This was a difficult chapter, I wasn't sure whether or not I should eavesdrop on Rosalie's conversation with Bella, in Eclipse it seems to be a very private conversation. I know Rosalie let's Edward know that they exchanged words, but I would think that would have been out of courtesy, anyway I am interested to hear your thoughts on it ;0)**

**Thanks for the Reviews and Alerts. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME AND YOU ROCK, AND I SEND YOU HUGS, ;0)**


	8. Chapter 8 Stranger

_**All things Twilight Belong to the Talented Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 8 - Stranger.**

I pulled my phone out and had it to my ear before I had arrived back at the Volvo, the voicemail beeped and I sighed into the phone.

"Edward, your damn girlfriend is, well, a royal pain in my ass right now. She gets defensive because we have her at the house, she gets snappy because she can't sleep without you there, and then she rides off on a motorcycle with an overgrown dog. You. Need. To. Call. Me!" I said into the phone with the most disgusted tone I could muster.

I knew that this wasn't the right method to get Edward to call me and forgive me for letting his girlfriend escape, but I couldn't believe that she had done that to me. We were best friends, couldn't she of snuck off with that animal whilst Edward was home?

I couldn't be mad at her, she hadn't planned this, I would have seen it. It was an impromptu move on the dogs side. She just went along with it.

I ran to the Volvo and climbed in, I don't care what the teachers called it, I wasn't going to sit around in a classroom full of children and fester on the betrayal my friend had so kindly served me. I needed Jasper, I knew he could calm me down and make me feel better, but he was out hunting.

I pulled into the garage, Esme was already there waiting for me. Her gaze held concern, I knew that my mood was positively volatile. I walked straight to her and threw my arms around her waist. I was trying not to sob, I knew it was out of the frustration and rage I was feeling, but it was also from hurt. I actually felt pain. I knew that she had done this on a whim and probably thought about me entire too late, but it didn't stop it from hurting.

"You can't take it personally, Alice." She sighed rubbing my arm gently. "She's been trying for a while. What happened?"

"That animal showed up on his bike told her to get on, and off they went. She actually looked me in the eye before she got on the bike, I think that's what really hurts. She is normally one of the most selfless people I know, but the dog seems to bring out the worst in her."

"Maybe that's why Edward is so hesitant about her being there, sometimes people bring out our other qualities."

"I know you're right, but I can't believe how painful it was, the pang of betrayal, it was terrible."

Esme rubbed my back gently, I knew that she wasn't condoning Bella's behavior. She was being objective, it's what she did best, it's one of the many reasons we all thought of her as our mother. She was wise and full of love for each and every one of us, not to mention always having the right thing to say.

I sighed, I felt my shoulders slump slightly as I relaxed. I could feel my normal senses coming back to be now. I was home

I just needed the sanctuary of Jasper's love to work through some of the unfamiliar emotions a human best friend brought out in me. I missed him when he left to hunt, but I was glad he wasn't here to see this breakdown, my anxiousness was particularly painful for him, and not just because he shared my emotions when they were so strong, but because he hated to see me suffer.

Now that I was home and I had started to calm down, I realized I had overreacted. I would have to apologize for the message I left Edward. I would also forgive Bella, in fact she was already forgiven. I wouldn't hold this against her, I didn't have it in me to.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I sighed, No need to look at the caller ID, I already knew who it was.

"Hi, Edward."

"Alice, are you alright?"

"Mmhmm," I said sighing. "I'm fine now, I was upset when I called you, it had just happened. I was feeling a little hurt from the stunt she pulled."

"What happened?"

"Well we got to school, she was in a _really_ bad mood. We went to first class, I was on my way to second and I heard the bike and Jacob's booming voice. I turned around, she was clambering onto the back of the bike, she looked me straight in the eye, and then they were gone."

I heard the steady breathing of Edward's frustration coming down the line, I could imagine him, once again pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Edward." I sighed. "She didn't plan it, I would have seen it, but I did let her call him last night to cancel their plans Saturday. It's all my fault."

"There's nothing to do but wait for her to come back, Alice. She'll be there in her own time. We were planning on being home by early morning anyway. Don't blame yourself. She would have found a way."

"You okay?" I asked stunned at his change in game plan.

"I'm fine, I think you and Rose were right. Trying to keep her away from him is pushing them closer together, it also appears to be making her reckless."

"I'm really sorry, Edward."

"Alice, stop. It's fine. I'll see you in the morning."

"K."

I flipped the phone shut and placed it back in my pocket. I hated feeling useless, and I hated that I let myself get worked up. I also missed Jasper.

To keep myself occupied, I decided to go hunting. I knew that the string of raw emotions had drained some of my resources, and I wanted to keep occupied. I couldn't bare the thought of hanging around the house all day, I would dwell on the situation too much, and the time would pass by entirely too slowly.

I excused myself from Esme's presence and disappeared into the surrounding forest.

I spent a long time running before I got around to making a kill, it was the best way to expend the frustration that had been building inside of me. I had worked through every emotion I had been feeling earlier storing them away so Jasper would never have to see them. I wasn't angry at Bella, I wasn't hurt anymore either. Esme's words had made perfect sense to me. Jasper brought out every good quality I possessed, he made me the person I am. Maybe Jacob brought out Bella's dark side, her selfishness, her carelessness.

I arrived back at the house feeling like my old self, it had done me good to get out. I decided to take a shower before Bella got back, she'd just left La Push, and she looked upset. I felt some concern for her but put it down to having to ride a motorcycle in the rain. I was already executing my guilt trip. I had forgiven her, but she still had to pay for her little stunt. I would be gentle.

I was leaned against the glossy yellow paint of the Porsche as Bella pushed her bike into the garage. I stroked it dramatically and sighed.

"I didn't even get to drive it." That was complete lie, but she didn't need to know that. I was just toying with her now, I was almost hoping she would see through my little plan and see it for exactly what it was, a ruse.

"Sorry." Bella spat, obviously her little excursion hadn't lightened her mood, in fact she looked positively morose.

"You look like you need a hot shower." I said moving towards her, I wasn't going to make her feel guilty. I could tell by her mood that she wasn't in the mood to be messed with. It looked as though things hadn't gone well at all.

"Yep."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked hopefully.

"Nope."

I nodded, my thoughts now clouded as I wondered what could have possibly transpired to cause Bella's actions and lack of speech. It must have been bad because the scowl seemed permanantely etched onto her face.

"Do you want to go to Olympia tonight?" I asked, I thought maybe I could get her mind off of it. Whatever it was.

"Not really. Can I go home?"

I could feel the grimace on my face. Edward would be back before she woke up. I knew that he hadn't wanted me to tell her this even though he never said it out loud. He liked surprising her. I just hated to tell her no, especially when she was so low.

"Never mind, Alice." Bella sighed in defeat. "I'll stay if it makes things easier for you."

"Thanks.' I sighed. I stopped and watched her as she trudged upstairs slowly. Rosalie lifted her head from the couch and raised her eyebrows at me. I shrugged my shoulders in response.

Bella didn't spend long with us that evening and she never said a word to any of us, we really didn't say much to her either, we knew that if she wanted to talk to us she would, and her darkened mood was a clear warning sign to leave her alone. We didn't attempt to cheer her up. It seemed that her time with Jacob hadn't gone well, I had worried for a while that he had perhaps phased and almost hurt her, but her mood reflected anger and pain rather than fear.

She left us to go to bed early, each of us were worried about her but left her alone. We were hoping that sleep, and the return of Edward would pull her out of her ambivalence.

I started to feel guilty once again, I should have kept a better eye on her, we should have skipped school and gone for a day of fun somewhere. It would have avoided this situation and maybe even cheered her up. I knew she hated being away from Edward, it seemed to make situations like this spiral out of control.

Bella had fallen asleep as soon as she had laid on the couch up there, I had snuck up to check on her about an hour after she had gone to bed. I cracked the door and listened. Her heart and breathing all pointed to her slumber and I backed out of the room and headed back downstairs. I was hoping it wouldn't be long until the guys got home. I couldn't stand this. She obviously needed to talk, but I was sure Edward was the only solace she wanted.

We heard the Jeep as it pulled up the driveway, I felt nervous at how Edward would react to me. I knew that he had been calm and relaxed on the phone, but I also knew his tendency to simmer about things which would bring his mood plummeting with it, remove most of his rational thinking.

I was pleasantly surprised when he came in and looked relaxed, he headed towards the stairs but I called his name before he reached them.

"Edward."

"Alice," he turned to me slowly, his face was relaxed, and I could tell his was trying to sort through my thoughts to get down to the problem.

"I'm sorry about what happened."

"Alice, really. I know Bella, it's really not you're fault."

"I appreciate you saying that, but there's something else you should know.'

Edward nodded, not saying a word, it was my cue to continue.

"She came back on her bike, soaking wet and shivering. She looked terribly upset, but wouldn't talk to us. I'm not sure what happened but I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. I think she needs someone to talk to."

Edward nodded and headed up the stairs quickly. I saw Jasper as he strode in the door. I ran to him and felt all of the tension release from my body, his strong arms enveloped me, I breathed in his sent and sighed. I had missed him terribly, and his warm gold eyes told me that the feeling was indeed reciprocated. Every ounce of stress and tension slipped from my body as I closed my eyes and showed him all of my feelings. His encircling arms tightened around me and he laid his cheek on the top of my head.

"You okay?" he whispered.

I nodded, not opening my eyes or saying a word. I just wanted to forget this day, right up until this point. Jasper sent a wave of love and adoration over me and I grinned into his chest. This, as always was where I wanted to be, it was home to me.

He pulled me up into his arms and dashed up the stairs with me. He sat me on the bed and he ran to the bathroom turning the shower on.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked, pulling his sweater over his head, revealing his sculpted body, the crescent scars on his arms glimmering in the dimly lit room.

"Nothing serious, just a bad day. But it's good now you're home." I grinned, the feeling of dread was finally disappearing, I wasn't sure of how much of that Jasper had done.

"Edward was saying that Bella escaped. He also mentioned you didn't take it so well."

I shrugged my shoulders as he disappeared into the bathroom. "It hurt my feeling's a little, but I know she never intended to do it." I tried to push the feelings I had repressed this afternoon aside, I didn't want Jasper to know the extent of my bruised ego.

He came back into the room wearing only a towel. I had been married to him for over seventy years and he still took my breath away. He approached me and the bed and kissed the tip of my nose. I smiled at him again.

"You don't have to hide you're feelings, Alice. I can feel you trying to box them up." he said as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"I overreacted, did you hear the message I left Edward?" I asked shaking my head, "It hurt, then I was angry and annoyed. Then I was the epitome of evil. But once I spoke with Esme, I realized that . . . well, that I really couldn't be angry with her. She was trying to spend time with her friend, a friend who brings out a different side of Bella. I don't know what happened there, but she came back in a foul mood."

I laid my head on Jasper's bare chest and took a deep breath, I hated feeling so weak. I never felt weak, but this was all so new to me. Rosalie had always been the closest thing I had to a friend before I met Bella. I had always known of Rose's tenacity so it was no shock to me, she was also a vampire, something we had in common and could use to our advantage in the friendship.

With Bella it was so much more difficult. I couldn't understand the wild roller coaster of emotions she was constantly feeling, or the mood swings. Her frailty had meant we were all constantly on our guard around her, it seemed she had a hard time opening up sometimes. I would probably never figure it out but all of these things were canceled out by her selflessness, her happiness and her ability to love. She was sweet, friendly and non judgmental. She was my best friend.

I sighed and pushed Jasper away from me and smiled at him. "Go take your shower." I laughed.

The next morning, Bella's mood had lightened considerably, I knew that this was, in large part, due to the return of Edward. I was also sure that she had been able to tell him what had been bothering her. I had to drive bella home so we could keep up the Slumber party pretense. I climbed into the car and started the engine. I was humming happily to myself as I pulled out of the garage. Jasper, had gone above and beyond in trying to keep me relaxed last night. I was feeling great.

I we pulled out onto the highway, Bella sighed and turned in her seat to face me. I just continued to hum, I didn't want her to feel pressured into talking to me.

"Alice," She started. "I want to apologize."

"For what, Bella?" I asked, I was trying to let her know that she was forgiven and there was no need for apologies, but she continued.

"Everything, being miserable, when you were trying to keep me entertained, Running off with Jacob, and then being so rude to you all last night. I feel terrible. Please forgive me."

"Bella, please, don't apologize. I should never had kidnapped you, you were miserable the whole time. I really should have known better." I didn't want to forgive her on each point separately, I wasn't sure how to explain my forgiveness without first explaining the hurt, so I forgave her collectively.

"Thanks, Alice."

I grinned at her as I pulled the Volvo up to the house. "I still owe you a ride in that Porsche." I grinned as I leaned across to give her a brief hug before she climbed out of the car.

Bella laughed and waved me off as she headed towards the house. I pulled away from the curb and headed back to the house. I knew Edward would need the Volvo so he could visit Bella, after he officially returned from his hiking trip, of course.

Edward was already waiting for me when I drove up to the house, I knew that he didn't want to waste a second away from Bella. I grinned at him as I stepped out of the car leaving it running.

"Have fun." I smiled as I headed towards the house.

"Alice,"

"Yeah?" I asked turning around.

"Thank you for trying, and I'm sorry I put you in that position."

I smiled at him and headed towards the house, he knew that I didn't blame him, and he also knew that I held nothing against him. He jumped into the Volvo and was gone before I even made it into the door.

Jasper was waiting for me on the other side of the door, his smile was radiant. I stretched up to kiss him on the lips and he met me half way.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked, as he led me into the empty living room.

"I have no idea. What do you have in mind?" I asked as he fell into the couch and pulled me onto his lap.

"Not a clue. I just know I want to spend time with you."

I grinned at his words and kissed him again. I would never get tired of his romanticism. I picked up the remote and turned on the television. I flicked through the channels looking for something mildly entertaining. I would be perfectly happy sitting in his arms like this all day.

I found an older movie and placed the remote down beside me. I settled back into Jasper's chest happily and closed my eyes. I hadn't checked on the inner workings of the Volturi since last night. They weren't up to anything particularly interesting, there was a small disturbance in Antigua. They were trying to decide who to send to take care of the problem. This was of no concern to me so I dropped it. I checked briefly to see if there was any trace of Victoria, but there was nothing. She seemed to be staying away from decision making. I wasn't sure how she was pulling it off but she was like a ghost.

I settled back into the movie, Jasper was stroking my hair gently and I was playing with his fingers, it was peaceful. I was enjoying his company. We spent many an afternoon in one another's company like this. It was easy to sit in silence with jasper. just touching him in the simplest of ways could bring me such comfort and contentment. Every emotion and unspoken word would pass through the smallest of touches. We had the afternoon to ourselves, with it the blanket of silence, just a mumble from the television filled the room.

This was soon interrupted though, it was something I hadn't been prepared for, something I hadn't seen. Emmett had bounded into the room calling each of the family members as he did so. Rosalie was stood behind him wide eyed. Carlisle and Esme quickly joined us and I stood up, something was wrong, I could tell by the seriousness behind Emmett's normally playful eyes.

"What is it, Emmett?" Carlisle asked noticing the same intensity.

"Someone was in Bella's room last night." he said.

Esme gasped and Jasper stood behind me resting one hand on my waist.

'Charlie?" Carlisle asked.

"He's fine, whoever it was, they were there for a reason, they seemed to have only been in Bella's room. Edward asked that Jasper and I go and follow the trail. It's not a scent he recognizes."

"Okay, go ahead." Carlisle mumbled.

Jasper kissed the top of my head as he passed me and ran out of the door with Emmett.

Silence followed them. I was stunned, I hadn't seen anything. The rest of the family stood staring at me, their eyes were full of questions I was sure I wouldn't be able to answer.

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**A/N: Okay, honestly I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. :( I rewrote it a couple of times . . . Hence the late hour of the posting ;0)**

**Thank you to the Reviewers, YOU GUYS ROCK, thank you for all the alerts also. ;0) I have a half day (4 hours, we're spoiled on Fridays) at work tomorrow, so I'll have to see if I can get 2 chapters up for you. No promises but I'll try.**

**Goodnight, and thank you again for the awesome reviews, big hugs to you all.  
**


	9. Chapter 9 Nothingness

_**Everything Twilight belongs to the Talented Stephenie Meyer (50 Days Till breaking Dawn Hooray! :P)**_

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**Chapter 9 - Nothingness**

Every eye was following me, I knew that they wanted answers but I had nothing to give them. Edward was on his way to talk to me, with Bella in tow. I had seen nothing, the Volturi were all business as usual. Every decision they had made was to follow up on things in various countries that had been taken care of. The newest thing they had decided on was Antigua. So I knew it couldn't be them. Victoria, wasn't around, and I had no idea what she was up to, but Edward would have picked up her scent immediately.

My mind was a veritable swirl of visions and no matter what I saw, there was nothing concerning Bella's house. I had even checked on the situation in Seattle, there was nothing.

"I didn't see anything, no one made a decision, I would have seen it." I muttered feeling completely useless. I dropped into the couch and pulled my knees to my chest. I wasn't sure what was going on, but things seemed to be going from bad to worse.

"Could it have just been a coincidence?" Esme asked.

"No, I don't think so, Charlie was asleep in the next room." Carlisle said pacing.

Esme sat perched on the edge of a seat, Rosalie was leaning against the wall, lost in thought. I just sifted through my mind, wondering if I had missed something.

Carlisle sat on the arm of the chair Esme was perched on, his right index finger moved to his temple, he was deep in thought.

This wasn't good, I knew Edward was angry, the thought of someone getting so close to Bella had pushed him over the edge. I was sure I would be the brunt of his anger, I could almost see it as clearly as his decision to come and talk to me.

We all sat in silence, lost in thought trying as best we could to come up with some kind of explanation. There was none, no matter what I looked for, or who I looked to, there was nothing. This large black gaping hole, was unnerving.

It didn't take long for the Volvo to come to a stop outside the front of the house, but no one moved. They were still trying to come up with answers. Edward, I could tell by his movements, was in full protection mode, which undoubtedly meant a large tendency for overreaction. This was _not_ going to be a pleasant conversation.

"What happened?" Edward's voice demanded of me as he strode through the door, Bella not far behind. I had, once again, been correct in my assumption. His anger was trained directly at me, his fists were balled in his frustration and his eyes could have bored a hole into me.

I threw my legs down from in front of me and stood up, I needed to hold my ground. In my frustration I could feel my arms cross tightly across my chest. It provided the much need comfort that I was missing due to the lack of Jasper.

"I have no idea,. I didn't see anything."

"How is that _possible_." Edward's words were pushed through his teeth in his anger, they hissed at me.

"Edward," Bella said rebuking his tone, that was aimed directly at me. I knew she was surprised at the way he was talking to me. I couldn't say I was exactly happy about it either.

Carlisle interceded, he was trying to calm Edward's temper. "It's not an exact science, Edward."

"He was in her _room_, Alice. He could have still been there — waiting for her."

"I would have seen that." I had been watching Bella, therefore, in her decision to go home I would have seen him waiting for her because of his direct interaction with her, and I could have diverted our course so she would have never been in his path. As it was, when she got home, I saw her go about her tasks and everything was normal.

"Really?" Edward threw up his hands in agitation. "You're sure?"

I was angry now, he had me doing so much to watch out for Bella's safety that my mind was a constant swirl of images, even when I was alone with Jasper, even when we were intimate, I kept my mind open to the swirl of visions. I didn't know how much more I could possibly do. I could understand his anger, but I felt it was unfair for him to direct every ounce of that at me.

"You've already got me watching the Volturis' decisions, watching for Victoria's return, watching Bella's every step. You want to add another? Do I just have to watch Charlie, or Bella's room, or the house, or the whole street, too? Edward, if I try to do too much, things are going to start slipping through the cracks."

"It looks like they already are," Edward snapped, the icy undertone cutting like a knife.

"She was never in any danger. There was nothing to see."

"If you're watching Italy, why didn't you see them send—"

"I don't think it's them." I had been watching them as closely as I had been watching Bella, in fear that the two would merge. "I would have seen that."

"Who else would leave Charlie alive?" Edward spat.

At Edward's words Bella's face was drained of what little color was lingering there, she shuddered at the thought of Charlie being so vulnerable, at him being so close to a blood thirsty beast that had no enigma when it came to draining him of his blood.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, because I didn't.

"Helpful."

"Stop it, Edward." Bella whispered from beside him.

Edward turned to her, he was still wearing the expression he had been shooting at me, but within a second he had exhaled the breath he had been holding in his anger, and his stance relaxed. Bella's eyes were wide as she watched him, silently begging for him to stop aiming his misguided anger at me.

"You're right, Bella. I'm sorry." His tone was back to normal and he turned slowly to look at me. "Forgive me, Alice. I shouldn't be taking this out on you."

"I understand," my words came out as an assurance. "I'm not happy about it, either."

Edward took a deep breath, I knew that this was his release of the anger he had been pushing aside since Bella's words. "Okay, let's look at this logically. What are the possibilities?"

I let myself relax a little and leaned against the back of the couch. Carlisle headed towards me and Esme sat on the couch in front of me curling up for what seemed to be a long brainstorming session. Rosalie was stood glaring out of the window, her back to the rest of the room. She had been so quiet I had almost forgotten she was here. I had a feeling she was waiting for Emmett, she knew that he had an eagerness to fight and that it could get him into trouble.

Edward pulled Bella to the couch and sat her next to Esme, who consequentially wrapped an arm around her in support, I knew that Esme would be one of the first people to understand what a toll this had been taking on Bella, it was her instinct to mother her children, and she considered Bella a daughter. Bella would forever be bonded with Esme, it was something that had happened quickly and quietly, but in the mere act of saving Edward from his near fatal mistake, she had forever earned a place in Esme's heart, she was now, one of the cubs, to a lioness who would die to protect her young.

Edward sat next to Bella holding her hand. I knew that this was hard on him and it was the reason I was so quick to forgive him for the outpour of anger when they had first arrived. i had, after all, been bracing myself for it.

"Victoria?" Carlisle threw at us, she was one of the main threats that we had, and it was only natural to come to that assumption.

Edward shook his head. "No. I didn't know the scent. He might have been from the Volturi, someone I've never met. . ."

I shook my head, I felt like I was a broken record. "Aro hasn't asked anyone to look for her yet. I _will_ see that. I'm waiting for it."

"You're watching for an official command." Edward said snapping his head up.

"You think someone's acting on their own? Why?" This was something I had never considered, even though i had been fully aware that some of the Volturi hadn't been happy that we'd been free to walk away with no orders other than to change Bella. It was, a possibility.

"Caius's idea." Edward answered, his face once again sliding into a hard, blank canvas as he thought about this new implication.

It was a possibility, Aro had seemed less inclined to set an order to destroy us, he was more interested in the potential we had to add to his coven, his organization. I knew it hadn't been Marcus and Caius either because I had tried to keep up with their decisions, just not as often. But I knew that whilst in Volterra, there had been a couple of their guards who hadn't exactly been pleased with our presence, nor our release. They could of perhaps decided to move without an order. Just to get a reaction.

"Or Jane's . . . ," I mused, voicing my thoughts, I knew Edward could hear every thought running through my head, but no one else could so I was speaking out loud. "They both have the resources to send an unfamiliar face. . . ."

Edward glowered at the thought. "And the motivation."

"It doesn't make sense, though" Esme voiced. "If whoever it was meant to wait for Bella, Alice would have seen that. He — or she — had no intention of hurting Bella. Or Charlie, for that matter."

I saw Bella visibly cringe at Charlie's name and immediately Esme was comforting her. "It's going to be fine, Bella." she murmured in reassurance. Smoothing Bella's hair, in her soothing gesture.

"But what's the point then?" Carlisle implored.

"Checking to see if I'm still human?" Bella offered quietly.

"Possible." was Carlisle's answer.

The room fell silent as we each considered the path in which our musings had taken. The silence was broken when Rosalie's silent form let out a loud sigh as the footsteps of Emmett and Jasper could be heard at the back of the house. She turned to face the kitchen. My gaze followed hers and waited as Emmett and then Jasper burst into the house.

"Long gone, hours ago," Emmett's voice filled the room. The disappointment on his face was evident. "The trail went East, then South, and disappeared on a side road. He had a car waiting."

"That's bad luck," Edward said, disappointment was also lacing his voice, no matted how he tried to mask it. "If he'd gone west . . . well, it would have been nice for those dogs to make themselves useful."

I look at Jasper and watched him closely. He thrived on these few and far between moments that required his most basic skill from his human years in the military. He was holding something loosely in his right hand. He shot me a look and then he turned to Carlisle.

"Neither of us recognized him. But here." Jasper held out what I could now see was a broken fern frond. Carlisle took it and held it to his nose in hopes of a familiarity.

"Maybe you know the scent."

"No," Carlisle looked almost disappointed. "Not familiar. No one I've ever met." he handed the frond to Edward. It was being passed around for recognition from anyone.

"Perhaps we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it's a coincidence. . ." Esme started but faded off as each of us looked skeptical. "I don't mean a coincidence that a stranger happened to pick Bella's house to visit at random. I meant that maybe someone was just curious. Our scent is all around her. Was he wondering what draws us there?"

"Why wouldn't he just come here then? If he was curious?" Emmett asked, completely missing the concept of how intimidating our large coven could be.

"You would," I heard the smile in Esme's voice. "The rest of us aren't always so direct. Our family is large — he or she might be frightened. But Charlie wasn't harmed. This doesn't have to be an enemy."

This was all so infuriating, it could be any one of the theories we had spoken about, but there was no way of knowing. I could see Esme's point but I highly doubted it. It seemed entirely too convenient, too convenient that they chose to be there whilst Bella was with us, that they had a car not far away, waiting. To me it felt like someone was testing the holes in my ability, almost as though someone knew that without making contact with Bella, I wouldn't see them, but how would they have known I wasn't watching the house? How had they known that Bella wasn't there? There were so many holes I was thinking in circles, unable to decipher up from down. We were getting nowhere.

I spent a little more time thinking about Esme's theory, if it was simply someone's curiosity, why would they leave Charlie unscathed? Why had they chosen one of the few times Bella wasn't there?

"I don't think so." I sighed, deciding to voice my opinion. "The timing of it was too perfect . . . This visitor was so careful to make no contact. Almost like he or she knew that I would see . . ."

"He could have other reasons for not making contact," Esme reminded me kindly.

It was a possibility, I just couldn't see the reasoning behind it.

"Does it really matter who it was?" Bella asked, the desperation lacing her voice, the whole conversation seemed to have unnerved her. "Just the chance that someone _was_ looking for me . . . isn't that reason enough? We shouldn't wait for graduation."

"No, Bella," Edward was quick to stop this train of thought. "It's not that bad. If you're really in danger, we'll know."

"Think of Charlie," Carlisle added. "Think of how it would hurt him if you disappeared."

"I _am_ thinking of Charlie! He's the one I'm worried about! What if my little guest had happened to be thirsty last night? As long as I'm around Charlie, he's a target, too. If anything happened to him, it would be all my fault!"

"Hardly, Bella," Esme stroked her hair again gently. "And nothing will happen to Charlie. We're just going to have to be more careful."

"_More_ careful?" Bella repeated incredulously.

"It's all going to be fine, Bella." I promised, as far as I could see, this little meeting today would keep her safe, it would keep us on our guard. Edward squeezed her hand gently in support.

The look in Bella's eyes told me our reassurances hadn't appeased her. She was determined to get her own way, but was once again shot down. This wasn't the time or the place for that to happen, i knew that from my many visions of when it would in fact happen, and my current vision had a very different setting and atmosphere, and it certainly wouldn't be Carlisle changing her.

After Bella and Edward left we discussed taking turns to watch Bella's house. We had to stop this from happening again. Over night was safe, Edward was there, but when Bella was alone there would constantly be someone watching her. I knew that the idea bothered Bella, simply because she felt like she was putting us out. No one really seemed to mind, Rosalie seemed hesitant but Emmett had assured her that she wouldn't get bored. As much as no one else wanted to hear that, it seemed to appease her.

I continued to look out for anything, Bella's actions and decisions were now at the forefront of my mind, after missing such a big event I kept a constant vigil with her. I wanted to make sure that no one would return tonight. It frustrated Jasper that I had just curled up in bed and closed my eyes as I concentrated. After protesting for an hour he joined me. He curled up around me, his arm around my waist and his head on top of mine. He sent waves of lust to try and derail my concentration, but I wasn't falling for it. I was too deep into my watch to be pulled out, so he carefully and subtly washed me with waves of tranquil peace. I knew he understood, no matter how much he complained, the silent communication was always there, whether we liked it or not.

I still saw nothing when it came to Victoria, but I knew that her scent would be traceable. So we were left to ponder on the visitor. It had unsettled us for a while but we were rolling carefully back into the order of everyday life, it was the calm after the storm, we just had the occasional watch to rotate between us.

On Sunday morning, we were back to watching the news. Once again the murders in Seattle had begun to escalate. We sat watching the news as the reporters hurriedly rushed through the most current situation. It was the one thing no one had really been paying too much attention to it hadn't been intentional, but things at the house had quieted for a while. Rosalie had been the one to see the report as she was flicking through the channels.

"It's getting worse." she stated setting the remote on the table.

Emmett, Jasper, Esme, Carlisle and I had all taken a seat and watched as the reporters flitted between one another in different parts of the city. They were bringing up maps trying to triangulate the areas of danger but each were spread out and in no particular pattern. Little red dots seemed to be spread sporadically across the map. Emmett was getting uneasy and agitated.

Jasper sat forward, his hands under his chin. "There's more than one newborn running around down there, in fact I would say there was more than a few."

"How can you tell?" asked Carlisle.

Jasper put up a hand and disappeared out of the room. He was back with a sheet of paper in his hand. He placed it on the table. It was the map that the news report had just had on screen. He was also holding a pen.

'Okay," he sighed and placed his hand on the map. He circled about five clusters and the sat back. "Each of these, I would say represents a newborn. The clusters are a tell tale sign of newborns, they don't hunt in any specific pattern, but in their first few days of life they feed in the same area they were changed in. They take people from that space. After that they spread out more, they start looking for something they want, rather than the closest person to them. They're thirsty beyond comprehension, as each of you are aware of, but without someone to guide them, they just feed, and sometimes, there's mistakes, they don't completely drain someone."

"That would explain more than one." Esme sighed.

"Well, not normally, as soon as they are aware that there is another newborn encroaching on their territory, they take them out. Newborns have a tendency to fight amongst themselves. Which is why it sounds like someone is creating them for a purpose. They also seem to keep far enough apart that they won't kill one another after the change. I would put money on the fact that this is why the spacing is so erratic."

"Well, lets get down there and take them out before it gets worse." Emmett said sitting forward in his chair. Rosalie was rubbing soothing circles into his back and staring at the map her eyes narrowed.

"Well, I think we shouldn't head down there on a whim.' Jasper thought out loud. "But we need to do something. This is the kind of thing the Volturi live for."

"Let me call Edward, see if he has any ideas." Carlisle said pulling out his phone. He stood up and wandered out of the room so the television wouldn't ruin his train of thought.

"I seriously think we should get everyone together and head down there. This would not be a good time for the Volturi to show up." said Emmett trying to persuade the group to agree with him.

"Whereas I agree with you, Emmett. We need to put a little more thought into this. It would be dangerous to walk head on into something we know nothing about. You have no idea who's creating them." Jasper said kindly, trying to satiate Emmett's eagerness to go.

Carlisle was back in the room snapping the phone shut.

"Edward agree's with you Jasper, he says we should wait until we know what's going on. But Alice, he came up with a good point, is there any way you could keep an eye on what's going on down there?" Carlisle asked, his eyes wide.

"I can try, but if these newborns are running around on pure instinct it could be difficult to anchor down any decisions they make. I'm sure I'll pick up something eventually though."

Carlisle nodded and turned off the television, I knew that he'd had enough of the news, they were steadily repeating themselves, and we'd already gone over most of the information.

"Edward mentioned that there were things missing from Bella's room. It's more likely than not that they were taken by her visitor. I'm not sure what it means but it seems strange to me."

I didn't like the sound of that. It immediately made me nervous, a shudder almost ran down my spine when my first idea hit me, what if it was a newborn that needed clothes and had scampered in the first house it had come across, it would mean the danger was coming closer. I corrected myself immediately. If it were a newborn, it would have drained Charlie. Now it was my turn to shudder.

Edward had brought Bella to the house later in the evening. We didn't talk too much about the current situation because we knew it would scare Bella more, and she would bring up her argument to be changed again. Before they left, they packed Bella's motorbike into Edward's trunk, it was quite a sight to see a vehicle fit inside a vehicle. Edward had bought a bike to go riding with Bella, but I noticed that whilst they were out in the garage, Edward made a decision to give Jasper the bike. Jasper, after admiring the bike since Edward had bought it, was going to be thrilled. But I would leave that little revelation to Edward, he would get a kick out of the pure wave of happiness that jasper would emit once finding out.

Bella had forgiven Jacob for whatever he had done. He had invited her down to the reservation for a bonfire. I knew Edward wasn't thrilled but he was sticking to his word, and being completely understanding about her need to see him. As soon as he'd dropped her off at the treaty line she'd disappeared. This always concerned me, because I never knew the status of her safety. Edward was frantic. He drove around all night waiting for her to call him to come and pick her up. She had no idea how much this affected him, and he would never let her know.

Esme worried, driving around in solitude with only his thoughts to keep him company, could put Edward in a bad place. He would rethink every move he had made, every conversation with Bella. he would torture himself close to insanity, and it would do him no good. That's when I decided I would do something selfless for a change. I kissed Jasper goodbye and headed towards where Edward was driving around. He constantly stuck close to the treaty line so he wasn't hard to find. I ran along side his car and tapped on the window.

He pulled to the side of the road and I climbed in slowly.

"What is it, Alice?" he was concerned again.

"Edward, why do you consistently think something's wrong whenever I contact you. Do you know what that does to my self esteem?" I chuckled.

He smiled weakly and pushed the car into gear and took off.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked as I fluffed my hair out. It had been windswept from the run.

"It just makes me uneasy. You can't see her when she's with them." he admitted.

"Jealousy, safety or both?" I asked, I knew my brother well.

"Bit of both. I can't help it, they way she talks to him . . ."

"Go on." I said nudging the information out of him.

"She's so comfortable with him, it's a little disconcerting at times. And the playfulness . . ." he closed his eyes as he composed his thoughts.

"Look, I think you can deal with this one of two ways. First, he's a wolf, he seems to have a huge thing for your girlfriend, and he's young. You can let him keep playing his stupid games and be an adult about it and let him make an ass out of himself or you can hit back and stoop to his level.

Second, you tell Bella exactly what's bothering you, you lay it all out in the table and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe if she knew how much this was all hurting you, she wouldn't be so overly eager to spend so much time with him."

"Is there a third option?" Edward sighed as he barreled along the highway.

"You could regress and hold her hostage." I said laughing.

"Tried that, it didn't work out so well." he smiled weakly.

"You know how much she loves you, Edward. She flew around the world to save your crazy butt. The sheer magnitude of her breakdown should be enough to prove that she can't live without you, and the dog was in her life then, too. You have to trust in her love for you, in your love for her. otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy thinking in circles."

"You're right, and I hate that I feel so self conscious about this. It's all so new to me."

"Of course it is, Edward. It was new to all of us once. But you two have something special, there is a pull between you. It's almost stronger than Jasper and I, you can't let that go. You have to grab onto it with both hands and let go of your inhibitions. Take a chance, it may hurt occasionally, but the two of you were made for one another."

"Thanks, Alice."

"You're welcome, I have one thing to add to this. I know that you're still reluctant to change her, I completely understand, you feel like you're robbing her humanity from her. The difference is, she wants it, Edward, if you could have seen her face when I told her I considered doing it myself you would understand. Her eyes filled with hope, her heart filled with joy and the one thing that made all of that come about was the thought of spending an eternity with you. I'm not trying to tell you to change your mind and cave in, but I am asking you to consider her feelings and what this means to her. You may actually be surprised, she knows what she's sacrificing, she is willing to do it for her, because she wants you."

Edward nodded and sucked in a large breath. I knew that my last statement had upset him, but I believed it was something he needed to hear. It was something that had gone unsaid since the vote. No one had wanted to bring the subject up again, not so soon. And then there was the television/piano incident, which seemed to make everyone a little more dubious of a conversation on the topic.

Edward's small cell phone rang quietly from where it sat in the middle console. He pulled it open quickly.

"Bella."

"It's not Bella." a deep husky voice answered. The politeness was forced, but present.

"Oh, hello Jacob."

"Bella fell asleep so I have loaded her into the car, I'm driving her up to the treaty line now. I've called Charlie so he knows. We should be there in five minutes tops." Jacob's voice was void of emotion as he gave Edward his instructions.

"Thanks, Jacob." Edward said and flipped the phone shut. His breath whooshed out of his lungs in frustration.

"I understand, but remember . . . tolerance." I said as he pulled to the side of the road.

"Thanks, Alice." He said smiling at me weakly.

"That's what sisters are for, Edward. Now go get sleeping beauty before they decide to keep her." I laughed as I pushed my door open. "I'll see you later."

I stepped out into the road and he took off. That was the most vulnerable I had ever seen my brother. I wasn't used to it. He had always been so strong.

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**A/N: Okay, so I know I mentioned a second chapter today, but don't shoot me it may not happen . . . I got carried away with this one. :0) But . . . I will give you the title of the next chapter . . . _Jasper Whitlock Hale_ . . . not original I know, but it is all about Jasper, through Alice's eyes. :0)**

**Thank you to the reviewers and those of you who added alerts . . . YOU ROCK ;0) . . . in all seriousness to those of you who review, Thank you, you make it a pleasure to write.**

**M'kay, enough of my boring sappiness lol, big hugs.  
**


	10. Chapter 10 Jasper Whitlock Hale

_**All things Twilight belong to the talented Stephenie Meyer ;)**_

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**Chapter 10 - Jasper Whitlock Hale**

I arrived home quickly and headed straight to my room. I felt better now that I had spoken with Edward. I felt like I had been able to say what was on my mind. It seemed to go well so I wasn't complaining.

Jasper flashed me a grin as I whipped past him in the room. He was laying on the bed reading as I darted straight to the laptop.

"Alice?" he laughed.

"Hi Jazz, I just need to get some things done, I'll be right there."

I jumped onto the computer and started planning, I'd had a vision as soon as it crossed my mind, and it would be perfect, my decision was made and it was still running without a hitch.

"Okay," I heard Jasper's voice behind me. "I give up, what are you doing?"

I spun around in my seat and flashed him a grin. "Graduation party."

Jasper rolled his eyes and chuckled as he buried his head back in the book. He now realized how long I would actually be on the computer. He didn't mind though, he was just happy to be with me. It seemed that for the two of us, knowing the other was close by would relieve any tension we'd had from being apart.

I had seen every detail of the party in my vision, which gave me the upper hand, I knew exactly what I was looking for. The vision had looked like a night club, but it was our house. I would need to get lights, a sound system and some recipes. I was confident I could test some of the food out on Bella when she came to the house, I also needed invitations, because of the rapidly approaching date, they would need to be sent immediately. That would mean store bought invitations but I could live with that. I could see that Bella would be a problem but I wasn't concerned about that. I knew that Edward would help me to change her mind, at least I hoped he would. It was just the release that we needed.

It wouldn't take me long to arrange, another benefit to being a vampire, and having readily available funds. I had realized that I would have been able to set it up sooner if I hadn't been so preoccupied with everything else. I was spending so much of my energy watching out for impending danger that nothing much got past that.

It had only come to me now because I had opened my mind, after the talk with Edward. I had gotten some of my pent up emotions off my chest, I was feeling a little brighter, and for the first time, I had let myself think about graduation.

I spend the evening making arrangements to get all of the equipment and start putting together some play lists, it was a wonderfully time consuming distraction, one that I hadn't realized I'd needed. I welcomed it with open arms, I would never completely commit to it while all of this was going on, but I knew that I was wound up and this would level me out so I could concentrate, and maybe pick up something I had missed.

Edward came home briefly in the morning to change and pick up the Volvo. He was about to head out of the door before I stopped him.

"Edward," I whispered.

He turned and gave me a warm smile, it seemed our talk had eased his mind a little.

"I'm throwing us all a graduation party." I grinned. "I saw a vision of it . . ."

Edward's face dropped a little and his eyes turned pleading.

"Alice . . ." I put up my hand to stop him.

"Don't give me that look, Edward. You're the one who wants her to have the human experiences. This, dear brother, is perfectly normal."

"You know how Bella will react to this." he chuckled.

Bella's reaction to anything social had always been a mystery to me, she had always shied away from the spotlight. I on the other hand, continued to forcefully shove her into it. eventually she would thank me for it, it may not be soon but she would get there.

"I do, but I wanted to get your opinion. Should I surprise her with it, she'll be difficult, but it might be worth it." I smiled.

"No, I would tell her. She may be a little more receptive to the idea that way, you need to mention that's it's for all three of us."

"Fine, I'll tell her." I sighed, I knew he was right because she would kick up a fit if I surprised her, at least this way, she would be prepared.

I spent most of the day trying to find the right way to tell her. I sat quietly at lunch going through conversations in my head, but it wasn't until we were headed to the car after school that I just convinced myself to spit it out. I knew I wasn't going to back down, but I knew Bella wouldn't either.

"I have foreseen . . ." I started trying to lighten the mood by feigning a carnival psychic.

Edward threw me an elbow, which I saw immediately and hopped out of it's range before it made impact.

"Fine," I sighed. "Edward is making me do this. But I _did_ foresee that you would be more difficult if I surprised you."

"In English?" Bella said eyeing my curiously.

"Don't be a baby about this. No tantrums." I said before I spilled.

"Now I'm scared." Bella said, purposely making her eyes large.

"So you're — I mean _we're_ — having a graduation party. It's no big thing. Nothing to freak out over. But I saw that you _would_ freak out if I tried to make it a surprise party."

Edward shot his hand out, I knew he was aiming for my hair, which was, for once, complying with my styling today. I hopped out of the way. "and Edward said I had to tell you. But it's nothing. Promise."

Bella sighed in resignation. "Is there any point in arguing?"

"None at all." This was definitely a first.

"Okay, Alice. I'll be there. And I'll hate every minute of it. Promise."

This brought a sudden recollection to me, I had, whilst carefully following the plan and watching over Bella constantly, seen her as she made a decision to buy Edward and I a graduation present. It was very thoughtful, Tickets to one of our favorite bands. I winked at Edward, I knew he had seen the vision in my head.

"That's the spirit!" I sang. "By the way, I love my gift. You shouldn't have."

"Alice, I didn't!"

"Oh, I know that. But you will."

Bella walked, lost in her own thoughts as she tried desperate to remember what I was referring to. I grinned at Edward again who rose his eyebrows and shook his head, all with a smile planted on his lips.

"Amazing, how can someone so small, be so annoying?" he muttered.

I laughed, "It's a talent."

"Couldn't you have waited a few weeks to tell me about this?" Bella sighed, as she pulled out of her thoughts. "Now I'll just be stressed that much longer."

I had no idea what she was talking about, it was almost as if she was unaware of the date. And it suddenly occurred to me that this was exactly what was going on.

"Bella," I asked eyeing her curiously. "Do you know what day it is?"

"Monday?"

I rolled my eyes, she was quick witted sometimes. "Yes. It is Monday . . . the fourth."

I grabbed her elbow and spun her around to looks at the plethora of posters and banners tacked up around the school. I pointed to the closest one that was attached to the gym door. The one that announced that graduation, was in fact, next Monday.

Her eyes grew large again, this time subconsciously, she hadn't realized at all, where had her head been?

"It's the fourth? Of _June_? Are you sure?"

I shook my head in disbelief, I was trying to act disappointed that she hadn't noticed such a large and memorable event in her human life. Edward just looked plain surprised.

"It can't be! How did that happen?" she once again drifted into her own mind trying to find the days she seemed to have lost. I looked at Edward surprised, she really had no idea. Her daze continued as we climbed in the car and headed towards the house. I continued to talk to them both, trying to pull her out of this conscious coma she seemed to be floating around in, but it did no good, she was lost in her own mind. On the bright side, if she had been unaware of the date, she hadn't picked out anything to wear. This would call for some shopping, it would definitely need to be overnighted.

Edward pulled to the end of the driveway, his eyes were on Bella, and full of concern. I didn't need to have his talent to know what he was thinking, being his sibling was enough to put my finger straight on it.

'_Don't worry Edward, she'll be fine, I think she was just expecting there to be more time, time slips away from you when you're not watching it, you should understand that more than most._' I told him in my head as I smiled and climbed out of the car. I knew he wasn't ready to pull Bella away from wherever she was, he was giving her time to work through the shock.

I watched as they drove away, once again I was seeing a more vulnerable side of Edward. I wasn't sure how to reassure him either, mainly because I had no idea what was going on in that very closed mind of hers.

I stood in the rain trying to search for something in the future, any glimpse of what may be changing due to this little meditation. But there was nothing, it would always be what I had seen since we had returned from Italy, one I had been overly hoping for, one I was prepared for. This, whatever it was, changed nothing. It was a comforting thought.

I kept trying to keep an eye on things and strained my inner eye, — as I was now referring to it — to see what was going on around us. I consistently rotated my thoughts around each of our situations, the Volturi, Victoria, the growing threat in Seattle, and Bella. She was back to normal and had finally come to terms with the small amount of time we had before her life changed to that of our kind. I knew it must be daunting, and I understood completely that she was scared, but I knew she would go through with it. It was what she wanted.

Everything for the party was in place, I was planning on arranging everything and setting up the house on Sunday night. Having the vision of the party made it all too easy, it no longer pulled my attention away from the situation that was currently on the forefront of our minds. Seattle.

I put more energy into looking for something there. The reports were more frequent, headlines were more macabre. It was beginning to make appearances in the national news. We all knew something had to be done, the Volturi would not let this go on much longer. We were out of time.

I was feeling useless. The only things I could really help with were Bella and the Volturi, I continued to feel like something was missing. The family had wanted to make a move but I couldn't see anything. This would stop them. Then I would have nothing again, a vicious cycle that seemed to be causing a larger problem than I had anticipated. I was losing my confidence and Jasper had to continually boost me with a large dose every time I dwelled on it.

I was getting ready for school, and concentrating on anything when I was hit with simultaneous visions of Bella and Edward. They were cutting class to come and talk to Jasper, Edward was sure that his training was necessary for dealing with the problem in Seattle. Bella was curious as to why Edward was adamant about speaking with him. Jasper was going to have to tell his story.

He stepped out of the bathroom as I re-planned my wardrobe for the day.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he followed me into the closet.

"Changing, we're cutting class today."

Jasper raised his eyebrows, I wasn't sure what emotions I was giving off but he looked dubious.

"Sun?" he asked as he dressed slowly.

"No," I sighed turning to him and smiling weakly. "You're in the hot seat. Edward wants to discuss Seattle, he's bringing Bella."

Immediate recognition of what I was telling him sparked in Jasper's eyes, he was very much like Bella in the regard that he hated the spotlight being shined on him, especially when it regarded his history. He knew, for certain, that bringing Bella would mean a recap of his history, one he wasn't proud of, one he hated remembering.

Jasper pulled out of his thoughts and kissed me on the forehead, sending waves of love at me. He shrugged his shoulders. "Thanks for the heads up." he smiled to reassure me that he was fine with the days activities.

I nodded and continued to change. I had to keep a lookout for anything coming from Seattle. Jasper, shooting me a little courage and reassurance took my hand and guided me downstairs. Esme and Carlisle were watching television and something told me it wasn't good news. I sat with them as longs as I possibly could. Taking what information I could, no matter how misguided it was, and trying to concentrate on it made things worse, the voices of the reporters, and the mumbling between Esme, Carlisle and Jasper were distracting. I needed to sit somewhere else, I needed to focus.

I stood up from the seat I had taken next to Jasper and he stood with me. I shook my head trying to reassure him and tell him to stay, he understood immediately and sat down again, he picked up my hand and kissed lightly as I walked away. I couldn't go far, I knew Edward and Bella would be arriving soon, so I perched at the bottom of the stairs and placed my head in my hands and concentrated. This time I wiped my mind of anything but the task at hand, I knew the situation, I just had to find the factors that anchored it down, all I needed was one little break to show me what was happening and perhaps lead me to the person planning it.

I heard Bella and Edward come in but didn't move from my place. I was still trying to see something that wouldn't come to me. I heard Emmett as he strolled in from the kitchen.

"Hey Edward. Ditching, Bella?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

"We both are," Edward said.

"Yes, but it's _her_ first time through high school. She might miss something." Emmett laughed.

I heard a thud as a newspaper landed on the table, they had progressed into the living room.

"Did you see that they're considering a serial killer now?" Edward asked.

"They've had two specialists debating that possibility on CNN all morning." Carlisle sighed in response. It was the national news, something none of us were particularly thrilled about. It meant the situation was becoming out of control. I lifted my head and looked towards my family who were grouped in the living room.

"We can't let this go on." Edward stated, voicing the opinion that was running through all of our minds.

"Let's go now," Emmett's voice was now filling the room with his enthusiasm. "I'm dead bored."

Great idea, lets head into a situation blind, not knowing what's waiting for us, not knowing the repercussions, because we're bored. That was a great plan. But I knew I wasn't alone in my thoughts on that. Rosalie's hiss traveled down the stairs behind me. She didn't like the idea at all.

"She's such a pessimist." I heard Emmett mumble under his breath. I knew he was hoping Rosalie wouldn't hear the comment.

"We'll have to go sometime." Edward agreed. I was sure he was just as uncomfortable heading in blind as I was, but his fear was doubled, as was ours, that the Volturi would step in, giving them a reason to check on Bella's 'progress'.

I heard Rosalie's light footsteps behind me, I scooted to the side so she could pass. She was moving slowly, I knew she wasn't happy about the turn in the conversation.

"I'm concerned," Carlisle said, "We've never involved ourselves in this kind of thing before. It's not our business. We aren't the Volturi."

"I don't want the Volturi to have to come here," Edward spoke, there was a slight edge to the tone, this was something he had thought long and hard about. "It gives us so much less reaction time."

"And all those innocent humans in Seattle," Esme stated, her gentle nature shining through. "It's not right to let them die this way."

"I know." Carlisle's sigh was a sure sign of his resignation.

"Oh," Edward's voice had picked up. "I didn't think of that. I see. You're right, that has to be it. Well, that changes everything."

I could feel the confusion fill the room, I could also see Jasper's discomfort.

"I think you'd better explain to the others," Edward was speaking directly to Jasper alone now. Jasper's thoughts had obviously intrigued him. "What could be the purpose of this?"

I got up and headed towards the rest of the family, Jasper never normally pushed himself into the focus like this so his thoughts were now intriguing to me. Edward was obviously not going to fill in the gaping hole of his outburst. He was pacing, lost in his own thoughts.

I stepped up beside Bella and looked to Jasper, who was watching Edward as he moved back and forth in a small space.

"What is he rambling about?" I asked him. "What are you thinking?"

Jasper looked even more uncomfortable with the stares now watching him as they anticipated his answer. His eyes shot directly to Bella, who was still stood beside me silently.

"You're confused." his voice was quiet.

"We're all confused." Emmett added in his frustration. He like the rest of us hated to be left out of the loop.

"You can afford the time to be patient." Jasper directed at Emmett. "Bella should understand this, too. She's one of us now."

I was so proud of him, he had never said out loud how supportive he was of Edward's choice to love Bella, his choice to add her to our family. It was considerate of him and I aimed all of my love and support at him, hoping it would give him the confidence to continue. Bella's slight shift next to me alerted me to the fact that his words had surprised her.

"How much do you know about me, Bella?" he asked, he was waiting for her emotions to help him understand.

Emmett, unhappy at the turn of events once again, sighed and fell into the couch and eyed the situation in front of him with trepidation.

"Not much," Bella answered.

Jasper's eyes now turned to Edward, who had stopped pacing due to his brothers thoughts.

"No," Edward said. "I'm sure you can understand why I haven't told her that story. But I suppose she needs to hear it now."

Jasper nodded, I could see the decision he had made, he was going to give Bella his history, warts and all. My heart reached out to him as I tried to push all of the confidence I could muster in his direction. He rolled up the arm of his sweater, revealing the scars that peppered his skin, it was something I never paid attention to anymore, something my eyes never lingered on, I only noticed when he drew attention to them purposefully. Which he was doing now. It was the introduction to his story.

He held his arm close to the light so that the bulbs glow made the scars dimensions appear. He ran his finger gently across it and gazed at Bella, waiting for the recognition.

"Oh," Bella's voice was full of the realization, "Jasper, you have a scar exactly like mine."

Bella held out her hand, her scar stood out more due to her human complexion. I looked at it again and it brought back every bad memory form Phoenix. I tried to shake it off.

"I have a lot of scars like yours, Bella." The small smile dancing wistfully on his handsome face made my heart explode. He pulled the sleeve further up his arm exposing the complex configurations of bites that had no rhyme or reason, they littered his skin, they told his story.

Bella's gasp filled the room, it wasn't in disgust or fear. It was in realization, she had looked closer and noticed the patterns, noticed that they were bites.

"Jasper, what _happened_ to you?" she asked.

"The same thing that happened to your hand." Jasper said keeping his voice quiet. "Repeated a thousand times." Jasper's hand brushed over his skin as her relived the numerous times in his head, he laughed dolefully at his own memories. "Our venom is the only thing that leaves a scar."

"_Why?_" Bella's question was released in a gush of air, her face told the story of her emotions, emotions I was sure Jasper was feeling the full effect of.

"I didn't have quite the same . . . upbringing as my adopted siblings here. My beginning was something else entirely."

Bella's mouth opened a little as her emotions became more prevalent.

"Before I tell you my story, you must understand there are places in _our_ world, Bella, where the life span of the never-aging is measured in weeks, and not centuries."

I moved silently as he considered how to start and sat at Esme's feet. I'd heard the story a thousand times. I'd also heard an extensive amount about his human life, but I was never tired of hearing his voice as he told his story, it was always so full of emotion.

He explained the southern coven philosophies to begin with, it was to give a greater understanding to the thoughts and movements of the vampires at that time. The respect that was granted to the Volturi during this, the fear the covens had of the ancient family.

He eased into comparison's of the north and south, delving into the history of the vampire movements, the reasoning for the continuous battles between covens, he told the story of how vampire armies came about, how the mind of one vampire changed the history of our kind. It wasn't a pleasant story, but it was the truth. One that he had been so involved with, but he still hadn't come to that part, he was explaining the newborns movements and actions, the reasoning behind their strengths and weaknesses, his words were each delivered with military precision and a finesse that only he could exude. I loved to watch him talk.

He then gave the history of one of the more epic battles that was fought, the fight for Mexico City. It was a particularly gruesome tale that I knew he didn't really like to tell, but it was a necessary part for Bella to hear. His recollections made him shudder, his eyes filled with the horror of the events. Most of this emotion came from the explanation of the Volturi's sweeps, the cleaning house. The exterminations.

Bella was quiet and tentative as he spoke, she made a good audience for him. When he had told the family of his history, their curiosity had prompted them to ask questions, stop him so they could fill in the gaps. Bella listened and asked the right questions, at the right intervals. It made it easy for Jasper to keep with the story telling.

He continued on, when he arrived to his personal story. He gave a brief and edited version of his human life, more than anything to explain his military history. He was proud of his career, the way in which he was promoted, the fast track of how he became Major. It was his greatest achievement of his human life, he was proud of it. I was proud of him.

He explained his mission, one he completed successfully, but it was his return alone that had gotten him into trouble, it was there he ran into the cold, beautiful women who made him what he is now. He explained his fear of them but the reluctance to shy away and leave them without protection. He was a southern gentleman after all. I could never fault him for stopping to converse with these women, it was who he was, a perfect gentleman, a compassionate soldier. My husband.

The vampire with the most control proceeded to change him, Maria, she was scouring for strong men and women to become the army she so desperately needed to regain the rights to her city. Jasper, being the best soldier he could be, helped her obtain her goals. She built herself a strong army with fighting capabilities that no other had thought to give. The fighting amongst the ranks was present made all the more intense because she was changing soldiers, with ambition and the desire to fight. Jasper won every battle he had fought whilst they were among only themselves, he was stronger, quicker and skilled in combat. He was rewarded, the prize was a sacrifice, but it made him stronger, he was quickly promoted, put in charge of the newborns, his skill seemed to keep them in line.

Then came the part I hated to hear about, Maria's 'fondness' of Jasper, something I could never fathom, something I hated the thought of. Something I could never change. I hated the sound of her name as it passed his lips. The way he described his admiration for her burned a hole in the pit of my stomach. His story soon continued with the battles but my mind lingered on the girl, the hatred her name brought out in me. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sound of his voice.

He was now describing their easy victory of Monterrey, Maria's home town. He then continued describing Maria's greed, her ploy to take control of the southern territories, the battles that raged out of control and devastated the south for a long time. The fear that the Volturi would step in at the fierce battles. The victories and the failures. Maria was strong, thanks mostly to Jasper.

Her distrust of the vampires she had been with when Jasper had been changed started a battle between them, they were taken down by Jasper and Maria, even though their army had been wiped out in some of the more vicious battles. Jasper was strong and the only one to survive this, his was a smart fighter and a loyal servant.

Jasper and Maria went on to keep a hold on Monterrey for many years, they kept a small band of newborns trained and ready to defend the city, These were easily disposed of when their usefulness ran out. They would kill them and replace them. Jasper however had found a friend in one of the more sustainable newborns, one, who against the odds, managed to keep his life for the first three years of being sent to battle. His name was Peter and the two of them had formed a friendship. It seemed Peter had managed to retain some of his humanity and it seemed to be one of the more drawing qualities for Jasper. I could see the fondness as Jasper spoke of his friend. I knew that he would always be so thankful to him, in the most indirect of ways, Peter had brought Jasper and I together.

Peter was in charge of the newborns, who were a handful and it was a full-time job. The newborns were outliving their usefulness so it was time to dispose of them. Jasper and Peter worked together to get the job done and this time around Peter tried to convince Jasper to keep a few with potential. Being the soldier he is Jasper disagreed and told Peter to follow orders but Peter seemed out of character, especially when a particular newborn was brought in for disposal.

Jasper had read the emotions as it happened, Peter had called out for the newborn, Charlotte, to run and followed her out. Jasper had let them go, he could not destroy Peter. Much to the annoyance of Maria, she had not been happy about his moment of compassion.

I sighed thinking about the private conversations that Jasper and I had shared about his time after Peter left, he would often describe the dark moods he would be in, it was the despair of feeling every emotion of his victims, whether they be newborns or his prey. It was taking a toll on him. He freely admitted to me privately that it would consistently play on his conscience.

I never judged him, I couldn't. Everything that had happened in his past had shaped him into the man he is today. My heart, my soul, and more importantly my everything.

His story took the turn, he was growing darker, more agitated, he was getting along less with Maria. It was then that Peter returned for Jasper, it was good timing. Jasper was ready, he knew that his distancing from Maria was causing her to consider destroying him, after everything that they had accomplished as a team, she still considered him beneath her. Jasper left with Peter happily, there was no glance over his shoulder for Maria.

He explained his traveling with Peter and Charlotte, they were still hunting human prey but with none of the same connotation. It was for food, there was no violence, they didn't need the strength of the army. The fight was gone but Jasper's conscience still bothered him, he was still restless. So he left Peter and Charlotte and wandered.

Jasper paused and a peaceful smile covered his handsome face. I stood up gently and stood behind Bella in his eye line, encouraging him to go on. His eyes were filled with love.

"I was in Philadelphia. There was a storm, and I was out during the day — something I was not completely comfortable with yet. I knew standing in the rain would attract attention, so I ducked into a little half-empty, diner. My eyes were dark enough that no one would notice them, though this meant I was thirsty, and that worried me a little."

I smiled at him as he approached my personal favorite part of the story. I winked at him waiting for him to continue.

"She was there — expecting me, naturally." He chuckled happily at the memory. My heart swelled as his eyes filled with complete contentment. "She hopped down from the high stool at the counter as soon as I walked in and came directly toward me."

His face had looked so shocked at my lack of fear, I remember the handsome face flitter through several emotions before deciding on one. I could feel the curiosity ebbing from him, it made the moment all the more exciting, it was the first time I felt the silence speech pass between us.

"It shocked me. I was not sure if she meant to attack. That's the only interpretation of her behavior my past had to offer. But she was smiling. And the emotions that were emanating from her were like nothing I'd ever felt before. 'You've kept me waiting a long time.' she said."

"And you ducked your head, like a good southern gentleman, and said, 'I'm sorry, ma'am.'" I laughed. His accent had been stronger then, his deep southern accent and gorgeous smile had made me melt, the emotions had been so much stronger than I had ever thought about. I knew he was coming to me, I had seen his face. But in person, this man was a deity, a sculpted god. He was so statuesque and perfect I couldn't take my eyes away from him. I knew then and there he was all I ever wanted, all I ever needed. With him, I was complete, a perfect whole. I loved him with every inch of my heart and every fiber of my being. Eternity didn't seem long enough.

Jasper smiled at me as my emotion flooded through my body, it was every emotion he had ever made me feel. "You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope."

He picked up my hand and I could feel my chest explode, the emotions I was feeling were overwhelming. I looked deep into his beautiful eyes and held his gaze, he knew what I was saying to him, like he always did. This was the first time he had ever added those words while telling the story to someone else. He had told me a thousand time what his thoughts and emotions had been at that point. But this was the first time he said it out loud, as part of the story. I was happy, elated, and positively giddy.

Jasper broke the gaze and looked to Bella. His story was almost complete.

"Alice told me what she'd seen of Carlisle and his family. I could hardly believe such an existence was possible. But Alice made me optimistic, so we went to find them."

"Scared the hell out of them, too" Edward said, his tone light and in keeping with the positivity the story had taken. He rolled his eyes at Jasper, and then turned to Bella. I still had a stupid grin plastered to my face, I could feel it in my cheeks.

"Emmett and I were away hunting. Jasper shows up, covered in battle scars, towing this little freak," Edward nudged me playfully and I felt the grin growing. "Who greets them all by name, knows everything about them, and wants to know which room she can move into."

Jasper and I laughed at the memory, the looks on each of their faces had been a picture, Esme's face had been the first to give me a warm smile, but Rosalie had been a tough cookie to crack.

"When I got home, all my things were in the garage," Edward finished.

"Your room had the best view." I smiled shrugging at him.

We all laughed together now. The memory now included us all and the bonds that we have formed are so real. We are a family, and now, knowing our story, Bella was an even larger part of that. She was a sister to me, but it seemed to me now, we were closer. She knew the details of my life and now Jasper's, too.

"That was sweet." Bella sighed smiling at us.

Edward, Jasper and I looked at her, I was sure I knew what she was referring too but I couldn't forget the larger part of the tale that had been woven before her.

"I mean the last part, the happy ending with Alice." She said her eyes widening at the reaction we'd given her.

"Alice made all the difference," Jasper said, I could feel the small subtle flow of love as it connected to me through our touch. "This is a climate I enjoy."

I sighed as I slid back into reality, I hadn't missed the purpose of this exercise, the previously silent conversation between Edward and Jasper, had now come into the light with the story of Jasper's history. Whoever was in Seattle, seemed to be forming an army, once I thought about it, it made perfect sense.

"An army," I whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

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**A/N: Hope I did that justice . . . kinda flowed, another long chapter :) I summarized Jasper's story, I know you've all read it before so I decided it would be best I go through it as Alice thought about it.**

**Thank you once again to the Reviews and those of you who added alerts. i appreciate it tons and YOU ROCK . . . COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY ROCK.**

**M'Kay. . . big hugs . . .**


	11. Chapter 11 Black Holes & Revelations

_**All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer**_

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**Chapter 11 - Black Holes and Revelations.** (I know. . . Muse . . . again! ;P)

The rest of the family's attention was now back on the conversation, we'd gotten to the point of it all, the main purpose of these newborns were to create an army, but why? and who for?

Jasper took the reins again. "I thought I must be interpreting the signs incorrectly. Because where is the motive? Why would someone create an army in Seattle? There is no history there, no vendetta. It makes no sense from a conquest standpoint, either; no one claims it. Nomads pass through, but there's no one to _fight_ for it. No one to defend it from."

He looked me in the eyes, he was trying to focus his thoughts.

"But I've seen this before, and there's no other explanation. There is an army of newborn vampires in Seattle. Fewer than twenty, I'd guess. The difficult part is that they are totally untrained. Whoever made them just set them loose. It will only get worse, and it won't be much longer till the Volturi step in. Actually, I'm surprised they've let this go on so long."

"What can we do?" Carlisle asked, concern lacing his even tones.

"If we want to avoid the Volturi's's involvement, we will have to destroy the newborns, and we will have to do it very soon." Jasper's face grew hard with the thought of what we had to do. He wouldn't enjoy it, he'd left it all in the past, he didn't want it in his future. "I can teach you how. It won't be easy in the city. The young ones aren't concerned about secrecy, but we will have to be. It will limit us in ways that they are not. Maybe we can lure them out."

"Maybe we won't have to." voiced Edward, he seemed preoccupied by his thoughts. "Does it occur to anyone else that the only possible threat in the area that would call for the creation of an army is . . . us?"

Jasper immediately realized the truth behind the words, he narrowed his eyes. Carlisle, shocked with the revelation, widened his eyes.

"Tanya's family is also near," Esme said trying to dispel the theory.

"The newborns aren't ravaging Anchorage, Esme. I think we have to consider the idea that _we_ are the targets."

"They're not coming after us," I said after a quick check, I had considered it was the missing link, but there was still nothing. Except flickers, faded snapshots of nothing in particular, it wasn't the same as it had been in Denali before Bella jumped. The pictures were practically visible but held no significance, and were therefore faded. "Or . . . they don' _know_ that they are. Not yet."

"What is that?" Edward asked seeing the visions flickering through my mind briefly. 'What are you remembering?"

"Flickers," I admitted. "I can't see a clear picture when I try to see what's going on, nothing concrete. But I've been getting these strange flashes. Not enough to make sense of. It's as if someone's changing their mind, moving from one course of action to another so quickly that I can't get a good view. . . ."

"Indecision?" Jasper asked me incredulously.

"I don't know. . ."

"Not indecision," Edward's voice was marred with the growl emitting from him. "_Knowledge_. Someone who knows you can't see anything until the decision is made. Someone who is hiding from us. Playing with the holes in your vision."

"Who would know that?" I asked quietly, I felt uncomfortable now that someone else had said it aloud, it had always been a thought in the back of my mind.

"Aro knows you as well as you know yourself." Edward's voice was as cold as the look in his eyes as this realization slapped him.

"But I would see if they'd decided to come. . . ."

'Unless they didn't want to get their hands dirty." Edward cut me off, finishing his thought.

"A favor," Rosalie said, finally speaking, she had been a silent observer up to that point. "Someone in the south . . . someone who already had trouble with the rules. Someone who should have been destroyed is offered a second chance — if they take care of this one small problem. . . . That would explain the Volturi's sluggish response."

"Why?" The shock in Carlisle's voice was more apparent. "There's no reason for the Volturi—"

"it was there," Edward contravened respectfully. "I'm surprised it's come to this so soon, because the other thoughts were stronger. In Aro's head, he saw me at his one side and Alice at his other. The present and the future, virtual omniscience. The power of the idea intoxicated him. I would have thought it would take him much longer to give up on that plan — he wanted it too much. But there was also a thought of you, Carlisle, of our family, growing stronger and larger. The jealousy and the fear: you having . . . not _more_ than he had, but still, things that he wanted. He tried not to think about it, but he couldn't hide it completely. The idea of rooting out the competition was there; besides their own, ours is the largest coven they've ever found. . . ."

Bella's face was drained of any color that had lingered there after the conversation. She looked shocked and horrified. I could see the fear creeping into the corners of her eyes. Edward's words had frightened her, they had awoken the memory of the cold stone room that had surrounded us and the cold crimson eyed fiends that were awaiting their meal.

"They're too committed to their mission. They would never break the rules themselves. It goes against everything they've worked for." Carlisle said breaking the silence that had blanketed the room at Edward's words.

"They'll clean up afterward. A double betrayal. No harm done."

Jasper shook his head slowly and leaned forward as his thoughts flooded his mind. "No, Carlisle is right. The Volturi do not break rules. Besides, it's much too sloppy. This . . . person, this threat — they have no idea what they're doing. A first-timer, I'd swear to it. I cannot believe the Volturi are involved. But they will be."

We all stared at one another, I knew that the thoughts were probably flooding Edward's mind regardless of whether or not they were aimed at him. I could see both sides of this argument, the Volturi, at Edward's new revelation, were threatened by our coven, no matter how peacefully we lived. They valued their control and status and I could see where Edward's ideas had come from, it would be something they would consider. But I doubted they would act upon it, not now anyway, I would see that decision, there would be no way to hide it. Which brought me to Jasper's theory. Yes, I undoubtedly agreed this was an amateur when it came to making an army, but who was it? It couldn't possibly be someone random, someone who wanted the area and saw us as a threat, it was all to coincidental. So who was it? And why were they doing this?

"Then let's _go_," Emmett's booming voice filled the room, and resonated from every wall, he was decided. "What are we waiting for?"

Edward and Carlisle shared a silent conversation, they were deliberating on what to do. Emmett had finally made a valid point. The only thing that worried me was, I was still blind, snapshots or not, they were unhelpful and did nothing to help us.

"We'll need you to teach us, Jasper." Carlisle's voice filled the now quiet room. "How to destroy them."

I knew how hard those words were for Carlisle to utter, it was something that no one particularly wanted to get involved in, but violence had never sat well with him, he had such a healing nature, to take life away was against what he was, what he believed.

Bella stood silently, her mind was working overtime with all of this information, for once I wished Edward could read her mind. Her usual open book expressions gave away nothing, but the look behind her eyes gave the distinct impression her mind was working on overload.

"We're going to need help." Jasper said as he thought through his mental checklist. "Do you think Tanya's family would be willing . . .? Another five mature vampires would make an enormous difference. And then Kate and Eleazar would be especially advantageous on our side. It would be almost easy, with their aid."

"We'll ask," Carlisle responded as he thought through the words.

Jasper held out his cell phone and looked at Carlisle, the urgency burning behind his eyes. "We need to hurry."

Carlisle almost looked panicked as he took the phone from Jasper and walked towards the window. This was hard for all of us, we weren't accustomed to asking for help, not because we were too proud, but because we had no need. H leaned his hand on the glass and looked out into the morning, my eyes glided back to Jasper.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward pull Bella to one of the love-seat and sat with her. I pulled my attention back to Jasper, his expression was full of concern and his eyes were giving away the strategic planning that was running through his mind. I watched as each of his muscle tensed and contracted with his thoughts. I was sure he was going through every second of what he had lived through. His concentration was unbreakable, my eyes, which I was sure were boring holes into him, followed his every movement, but his mind was on the task. I was happy to watch him.

So much of my concentration was trained on Jasper, Carlisle's hurried speech to Tanya went all but unnoticed, I'd just lived through the conversation, hearing it again would not ease my mind. I concentrated on Tanya's answer and was disappointed with the decision she had come to.

It seemed that Laurent had made more of an impression on Irina than we had been aware of, he had charmed her and they had spoken of love and settling with one another. Irina had believed Laurent to be her truest mate, one that had been destroyed when the wolves had taken him. This was not good, it meant that they were holding a grudge and were trying to trade a vendetta for their help. If we'd just kept our mouths shut, we'd called them and explained Laurent's disappearance so they wouldn't worry, we'd also needed to know how much information he'd had about us . . . now they were going to hold it against us.

I opened my eyes to Edward's words, the story had just been relaid to him through Carlisle's mind. His actions and expressions I was sure were similar to mine. Nothing good would come of this.

"Damn it. Damn Laurent to the deepest darkest pits of hell where he belongs." Edward groaned and closed his eyes in frustration.

"Laurent?" Bella whispered as her brows rose in confusion. Her eyes glazed as she considered the implications. She had almost been murdered by Laurent in a meadow where she had gone to find some resemblance of Edward. She'd been saved by the wolves. I knew she must be putting the pieces together in her mind. Laurent had been in Denali, it had been his destination when he'd left us the night James was tracking Bella.

Carlisle's voice pulled me out of my silent study of Bella.

"There's no question of that," his voice was unusually stern, I knew that Tanya had been giving him the trade, the ultimatum. "We have a truce. They haven't broken it, and neither will we. I'm sorry to hear that . . . of course. We'll just have to do our best alone."

Carlisle immediately slapped the phone shut, he didn't want to hear anything more form Tanya, and I couldn't really say I blamed him. He didn't turn to us, he continued his vigilant stare into the cold, foggy morning ahead of him. The room was cascaded into silence for a brief second. We all knew, without him saying a word, that this was not good news.

"What's the problem?" Emmett asked, aiming his question directly at Edward knowing he heard the whole conversation in Carlisle's mind. He never had a problem filling a space like this with a question, his gift was his strength, but it could also be his blatant honesty and openness. He couldn't see the future or read minds, so it was a valid question.

"Irina was more involved with our friend Laurent than we knew. She's holding a grudge against the wolves for destroying him to save Bella. She wants—" he stopped and looked down at Bella, I knew the continuation of that statement and I knew as well as he did that Bella would not take well to the terms of the ultimatum.

"Go on," Bella said her voice holding the calm she was trying to exude.

Edward's eyes narrowed as his continued, he knew that this would hurt Bella, and it was something he tried to avoid at all costs.

"She wants revenge. To take down the pack. They would trade their help for our permission."

"No!" Bella's words game as a wheeze of air, the answer had shocked her.

"Don't worry," Edward told her his voice void of any emotion or tone. "Carlisle would never agree to it." he hesitated, then sighed. "Nor would I. Laurent had it coming, and I still owe the wolves for that."

"This isn't good," Jasper sighed from beside me. "It's too even a fight. We'd have the upper hand in skill, but not numbers. We'd win, but at what price?" He looked at me quickly and then averted his eyes. I knew he worried about me sometimes, but his worry was unfounded. I had the upper hand here, I had the gift that would save me. I knew when someone was aiming for me. In combat this was almost more useful than at any other point, the only fight it would be useless in, is a fight against the wolves, but I wasn't planning on fighting them anytime soon.

Bella looked panicked, she looked positively and utterly hopeless. Her eyes were wide and full of trepidation, we were her family now and Jasper's words had just slapped her with the truth of what we were about to do. I believed this was the first time all of us were on an agreement, we didn't feel so indestructible.

Our family continued to plan, but we tried to carry on with our lives as normally as possible. We continued to talk through Monday, it wasn't advisable to miss school so close to finals, but we'd missed nothing we couldn't make up. Bella had finally come to terms with the idea of what was about to happen.

By Tuesday we tried to calm the situation down a little with Bella. Edward had confided in me that she'd been suffering nightmares since. He was feeling useless and wished that he could remove her from the situation, but he'd promised never to hide situations like this from her again, and we would need his strength and skill. It was a catch-22 and we were all suffering it. Jasper had tried to convince me that Maria would be able to help, but her name brought me nothing but anger and distaste, if she appeared anywhere near me, she would not live to exit. After extensive conversations about this, Jasper finally gave up on the thought of including Maria. He knew how I felt and although he was sensitive to my feelings about her and her history with him, he knew we needed help. He was doing his best to get that help for us.

Now that we had an idea of what was going on in Seattle I watched the situation closely, it was all I could do so I was vigilant, but I never stopped watching the other situations, after multi-tasking with my mind these past coupe of weeks it was beginning to come easier, I could rotate the thoughts in my mind and get what I needed. It also gave me the opportunity to continue planning the party. One that I would not be deterred from.

We were all sat together at lunch on Wednesday when Bella seemed to remember something I was wishing she hadn't.

"You can't be serious." her tone was full of disbelief and amazement. "You've completely lost your mind!"

"Say whatever you like about me," I said without shame. "The party is still on."

Bella stared at me incredulously, she looked as though she'd been slapped across the face and held the resulting expression for emphasis.

"Oh, calm down, Bella! There's no reason not to go through with it. Besides, the invitations are already sent."

"But . . . the . . . you . . . I . . . insane!" she spluttered her words tumbling out with no order or particular meaning.

"You've already bought my present," I said, thanks lingering in my tone. "You don't have to do anything but show up."

Bella took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she tried to calm herself. "With everything that is going on right now, a party is hardly appropriate." her voice was level.

"Graduation is what's going on right now, and a party is so appropriate it's almost passe."

"Alice!"

I sighed and gathered my thoughts, I knew that she was still on edge and joking was uncalled for. "There are a few things we need to get in order now, and that's going to take a little time. As longs as we're sitting here waiting, we might as well commemorate the good stuff. You're only going to graduate form high school — for the first time — once. You don't get to be human again, Bella. This is a once-in-a-lifetime shot." I said keeping my voice low so it would carry to no one other than my intended target.

Edward, who'd been quiet throughout the conversation shot me a look of warning. I had been careful, but his vampire hearing hadn't missed it. I stuck my tongue out at him, he and Bella had been the only two to hear me. He knew that, he just didn't like the implications of my words, something he was still trying to buy more time with.

"What few things do we need to get in order?" Bella asked keeping her voice low, she was keeping to the point and refused to have her attention diverted.

Edward answered her, his voice low in fear that he would be overheard. "Jasper thinks we could use some help. Tanya's family isn't the only choice we have. Carlisle's trying to track down a few old friends, and Jasper is looking up Peter and Charlotte. He's considered talking to Maria . . . but no one wants to involve the southerners."

I shuddered and my mind clouded over as her name was mentioned in his explanation, I couldn't and wouldn't have her anywhere near Jasper. I would do everything in my power to stop Maria coming into our lives. I'd told his so, and I was a little upset that he'd spoken to the family about this after I'd asked him to drop it. I wouldn't throw it in his face, but it made me all the more defiant when it came to her. She would not get within a hundred feet of my husband, call it what you like but it would never happen.

"It shouldn't be too hard to convince them to help," he carried on. "Nobody wants a visit from Italy."

"But these friends — they're not going to be . . . _vegetarians_, right?" Bella asked her eyes wide with the thought of a hoard of vampires occupying Forks.

"No," Edward's face lost all expression as he answered. I knew that this had been a touchy subject between him, Jasper and Carlisle.

"Here? In Forks?"

"They're friends," I answered quietly in reassurance. "Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry. And then, Jasper has to teach us a few courses on newborn elimination . . ."

Edward smiled, I knew he was considering what fun the little matches between us all would be, no matter what the purpose of the exercise was.

Bella looked horrified at the idea, I knew that anything to do with physical confrontation made her uncomfortable. Knowing that Edward would be in the midst of the fight was even more horrific to her. She couldn't accept us going to fight, especially with the odds being stacked so neatly against us. We would be victorious, but as Jasper had stated, there could be a price.

"When are you going?" Bella whisper, her voice once again devoid of emotions she was feeling.

"A week," Edward's answer was casual, "That ought to give us enough time."

Bella's face was soon drained of her light coloring and replaced by a tinge of green, I knew that this was hard for her, she was expecting a large disaster. She had spoken to me privately about her worries about us going into this blind.

"You look kind of green, Bella," I said trying to ease her mind, or at the very least make her laugh.

Edward looked at her, concern flitted across his face as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him. "It's going to be fine, Bella. Trust me."

Bella sat contemplating his words and the situation we were about to head into, she was worrying herself into a hole and I could almost see as her mind ticked with the possibilities. There were short snaps of visions as she rallied through her options in her mind.

"You're looking for help," she said slowly, she was settling on her decision. I could see it forming in my head.

"Yes." I tipped my head to the side as I tried to focus on the vision. I caught it, she was talking once again about being changed. It was a bad idea, but I let her vocalize it.

"_I_ could help." she whispered as her eyes connected with mine.

I saw Edward's body freeze at her words, I knew he was still not completely set on the idea, it still didn't seem right to him. His arm tightened around Bella. Her eyes widened at the pressure. It wasn't enough to hurt her but it was enough for her to notice. He sighed, the air escaped as a hiss, one he'd been trying to conceal. He was overreacting.

"That really wouldn't be _helpful_." I said, watching Edward as his eyes darkened slightly.

'Why not?" she demanded. "Eight is better than seven. There's more than enough time."

"There's not enough time to make you helpful, Bella." I tried to convince her. "Do you remember how Jasper described the young ones? You'd be no good in a fight. You wouldn't be able to control your instincts, and that would make you an easy target. And then Edward would get hurt trying to protect you." I folded my arms across my chest, I knew that Edward was silently thanking me, but I hadn't done it for him. I done it to keep Bella safe, to give her the choice back. She continually made her change about circumstances rather than choice. She would be better to choose this life, and not continue to argue her point every time danger became present.

Bella slumped in defeat, her entire form was limp as she considered her loss. She knew that my logic was right, that she would need more than four days training to become a skilled fighter. Edward now relaxed next to her, his grip slackened around her again and he leaned in. His mouth close to his ear.

"Not because you're afraid." he whispered.

"Oh," A quick torrent of images flooded my mind, Renee would not be able to join our little festivities. Phil had hurt himself and she would have to look after him. There goes Bella's Surprise. That changed things. "I hate last minute cancellations. So that puts the party attendance list to sixty-five. . . ."

"_Sixty-five!_" Bella hissed, her eyes wide with wonder and agitation.

'Who canceled?" Edward asked me.

"Renee." I sighed.

"What?" Bella exclaimed.

"She was going to surprise you for your graduation, but something went wrong. You'll have a message when you get home."

Bella looked relieved, an emotion I wasn't expecting due party to the number of guests, and the cancellation from her mother. Then it occurred to me, of course she would be relieved, her mother would be far away from the danger.

I was finalizing the plans on the party Thursday evening when I saw it. I hated the feeling it gave me when it happened but I knew it meant something was wrong, or at least . . . different. Whilst Bella was in La Push, and out of my range of vision I would check on the house and Charlie, it was for my own sake among other things, I hated that I had missed their visitor, and I wanted to keep him safe. But Charlie and the house had disappeared, which only meant one thing.There was a werewolf there.

Edward was home from hunting with everyone else and I became concerned. I tapped on his door lightly.

"Edward?"

"Come in, Alice." I heard his voice.

I walked into the room and noticed him laid on the bed, his hands were behind his head and his eyes were closed.

"Um . . . I thought I would let you know that Bella's home. Well, at least I presume she is. Her house and Charlie just disappeared from my sight."

Edward sat up and smiled, he moved to the edge of the bed and stood up, he headed towards the door and I followed silently.

"Thanks, Alice. I wonder why she didn't call me?"

"Wish I could tell you." I laughed.

Edward disappeared down the stairs and out of the house and I returned to my room. Edward was already heading towards the house, but he had the phone to his ear. He was calling to make sure he could come by. But something he'd heard made him react and he sped up, disappearing all too soon.

I continued with what Id been doing when I saw them again, Edward had Bella and they were heading towards the house, Bella was holding her hand in a strange way. It didn't look good. I knew that she was hurting, I could see the pain in her eyes.

When they arrived, I listened as they made their way through the house, it seemed Bella had broken her hand in the act of punching a werewolf, one I was sure she had gone to visit. I wasn't sure of the circumstances, but I was sure that there was a good reason. Bella was not a violent person, she would have had to have been provoked to give a reaction such as that. I didn't want to pry so I didn't ask, but the cast wouldn't be attractive for graduation.

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**A/N: Okay now that's outta the way, the race is on!!  
**

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews, YOU GUYS ROCK!  
**


	12. Chapter 12 Graduation

_**All Things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer**_

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**Chapter 12 - Graduation**

The days after the Jacob incident passed quickly. I had tried not to pry into the reasoning behind what had happened but it was Edward that had come to me. He had uncharacteristically asked me to check on the future, more to the point, Bella's future.

It was then that he'd told me of the kiss that Jacob had planted on her against her wishes. He'd wanted to react, but with Charlie and Bella around it had taken everything in him to keep his calm.

It was no wonder she had punched him, it was almost a violation of her personal space. I was proud of her and I was now almost certain that if she had our strength she would have swiftly removed his jaw, but he would have never been that close if she had been a vampire. There would always be the hate for one another, nothing would change that. At least, I'd never known it to.

It was Monday morning, I was placing the finishing touches on the house, and Edward had been told, by Bella, that he had to arrive normally for Charlie's sake, so he was biding his time until he could head in that direction. I was dressed and ready to head out of the door. Graduation was by no means new to me but it was Bella's first time and I wanted it to be special.

I had the box with the clothes I had ordered sitting on the stairs, I didn't want to push my help on Bella, so I was waiting for her to make a decision before I headed in that direction. After watching her rifle through each of her drawers and her closest, I couldn't watch anymore and headed in her direction, to put her out of her misery. She'd had a limited wardrobe to begin with, but her visitor had left her with almost nothing.

As I dashed up the side of Bella's house and perched in her window she punched the wall gently. She was frustrated.

"Stupid, thieving, annoying vampire." she muttered angrily.

"What did I do?" I asked.

I stepped in and leaned against the wall beside the open window.

"Knock, knock." I grinned.

'Is it really so hard to wait for me to get the door?" she asked impatiently.

I threw the box onto her bed. "I'm just passing through. I thought you might need something to wear."

Bella stared at the box that was now lying on top of the remainder of her clothes. Her face twisted into a slight grimace, I knew I was right, I knew she appreciated it, but she still hated gifts.

"Admit it," I said, "I'm a lifesaver."

"You're a lifesaver," Bella muttered. "Thanks."

"Well, it's nice to get something right for a change. You don't know how irritating it is — missing things the way I have been. I feel so useless. So . . . normal." I cringed, normalcy was not something I had ever aspired to, let alone lived up to. It was a difficult transition, if this continued the only thing in the originality department for me would be that I was a vampire.

"I can't imaging how awful that must feel. Being normal? Ugh." Bella said sarcastically with a small smile on her lips.

I couldn't help but laugh at that. It was fair considering she was a human and talking to a vampire with the ability to see into the future. "Well, at least this makes up for missing your annoying thief — now I just have to figure out what I'm not seeing in Seattle."

Bella's face turned stoic, her eyes immediately disappeared into a line of thought I certainly wasn't following. I wasn't sure what I'd said to get this reaction from her. I watched her curiously as she gathered her thoughts. Her gaze locked on me, her face was frozen. I was beginning to think I'd said something seriously offensive so I tried to change the subject. I turned to the one thing I knew would get a reaction.

"Aren't you going to open it?" She didn't move so I headed towards the white box and lifted the top off gently. I pulled out the skirt and sweater and held it up for her to see. She still had the faraway look in her eyes so I waved it in the air a little to catch her attention. "Pretty don't you think? I picked blue, because I know it's Edward's favorite on you."

Bella was still not in the conscious, I was getting a little worried and upset. Her eyes had a strange look, it was as though she was stuck between emotions.

"It's the same," she whispered quietly.

I looked at the ensemble I'd bought for her and then looked at the pile of clothes that were piled on the bed behind me. There was nothing slightly resembling what I'd bought. I turned back to Bella and looked at her, I was beginning to wonder if all of the past weeks revelations had finally thrown her into shock.

"What is?" I asked. "You don't have anything like this. For crying out loud, you only own one skirt!"

"No, Alice. Forget the clothes, listen!" She said, her voice hurried.

"You don't like it?" I asked, it seemed like a little bit of an overreaction to not liking something, in fact, I thought it was perfect, it was sophisticated, yet stylish and the blue would look great on her. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Listen, Alice. Don't you see? It's the _same_! The one who broke in and stole my things, and the new vampires in Seattle. They're together!"

A thousand images began to slip through my mind, it was similar to the experience in Italy, almost as if they were on a reel, too fast to decipher. I could feel the fabric slipping from between my fingers, but my mind was too preoccupied to stop it from happening. I tried to collect my mind and stared at Bella, focusing with all my attention on her face. The images began to fade so I could gather my thoughts, they had been so quick, I almost felt a little dizzy.

"Why do you think that?" I asked. My mind was still reeling.

"Remember what Edward said? About someone using the holes in your vision to keep you from seeing the newborns? And then what you said before, about the timing being too perfect — how careful my thief was to make no contact, as of he knew you would see that. I think you were right, Alice, I think he did know. I think he was using those holes, too. And what are the odds that _two_ different people not only know enough about you to do that, but also decided to do it at exactly the same time? No way. It's one person. The same one. The one who is making the army is the one who stole my scent."

I froze on the spot, I could feel every muscle stop and cease up in Bella's revelation. She was right, everything she'd said made perfect sense. Someone was making an army, and they had Bella's scent. Someone had been close enough to know that I'd not see this, someone knew that there was a chance that they wouldn't be caught. If Bella hadn't of said anything, if Bella hadn't of caught it, we'd have walked straight into it, straight into the trap. So many things had been happening at the same time we'd missed it, we hadn't put the pieces together. They'd been rolled out in front of us, practically handed to us on a silver platter and we continued to hold them as separate entities.

The only thing that didn't make sense was why build an army to get to Bella? My immediate guess was that they knew she was being protected, and whoever it was needed to get only one of these newborns past us to get at Bella. They were trying to kill Bella, the only human in the equation. The pictures were twirling again. I didn't have time to pick through them but I would bet my Porsche that they were decisions of the newborns, now I had some sort of connection to them, now I knew their goal, it would be a matter of time until their decisions became clear, because I would be looking for the order, I would be looking for the one who'd given it to them.

"You're right," my empty voice escaped me, and I focused my eyes on Bella. "Of course you're right. And when you put it that way. . . ."

"Edward had it wrong," Bella whispered quietly. "It was a test . . . to see if it would work. If he could get in and out safely as long as he didn't do anything you would be watching out for. Like trying to kill me . . . And he didn't take my things to prove he'd found me. He stole my scent . . . so that _others_ could find me."

She was right, they had stolen her clothes and they would wave them in front of the newborns so they could follow the scent and find her. They were coming after Bella, and they had something that would lead them straight to her, straight here to her house. Straight to Charlie. To Charlie. We would have to go to them.

"Oh, no." I said the words but no sound escaped me, I was at a loss.

The little things we'd overseen were now smacking me in the head, how could we have been so stupid. We were a large coven, we were relatively smart, goodness knows how many degrees we had among us, and we missed it. We would need to make arrangements quickly. I would have to head directly to our home.

"Well," Bella whispered, her voice was almost relieved. "Everyone can relax. Nobody's trying to exterminate the Cullens after all."

I couldn't believe she would think anything has changed. The girl had lost her mind, how could she think this would change anything, other than to make our actions all the more urgent. I had to talk with Carlisle and Jasper. This was important.

"If you think that one thing has changed, you're absolutely wrong," I pushed through my teeth, "If someone wants one of us, they're going to have to go through the rest of us to get to her."

"Thanks, Alice. But at least we know what they're really after. That has to help."

"Maybe," I said as I began to pace. I was thinking about what this would really mean. They would be heading in this direction as soon as they were given the scent. We could hope that they would fight amongst themselves to give us a little chance. I would also need to know what direction they would take to get here. It would be the most direct path. They wouldn't want to waste time.

I heard Charlie's footsteps on the stairs before he hammered on the door with his fist.

"Aren't you ready yet? We're going to be late!" I heard Charlie call.

"Almost, give me a minute." Bella called, but I could feel hers eyes following me.

"Are you crying?" Charlie called after a brief pause, I was sure he was attempting to decode the tone in Bella's voice.

"No. I'm nervous. Go away."

Charlie complied and I listened as he plodded down the stairs slowly, but I heard something more disturbing coming from down the street. The Volvo.

"I have to go." I whispered to her.

"Why?"

"Edward is coming. If he hears this . . ."

"Go, go!" Bella urged me and I took a quick glance at her.

"Put it on," I ordered as I headed out of the window. I disappeared into the trees trying to stay out of Edward's hearing range, I knew if he heard this now, he would be inclined to throw Bella over his shoulder and run for the hills, literally, but there was no running from this. If we did decide to take Bella away, the newborns had the possibility to completely wipe out the population of Forks, Washington. That was something we couldn't let happen. This was big, this was bad, and we needed help. I had to get to Carlisle.

I practically jumped all of the steps leading up to the porch and burst through the door. The whole family was dressed and ready to attend the graduation but the looks I was getting had everyone frozen to the spot. Jasper's eyes widened as soon as he felt my emotions. His arms were around me in an instant and I was being held in the enclosure of his arms.

"Alice?" Carlisle's shocked face eyed me warily.

"She got it!" I explained.

"A little less cryptic, Alice." Rosalie sighed, placing a hand on her hip.

"Bella, she got, she found what we were all missing. The person that is making the newborns in Seattle, is the person who stole her scent. Whoever took her clothes , they are using it as a scent, for the newborns to track down Bella. It was never about us, not really. Whoever is was tested my ability twice, with them being in her room, and the creation of the newborns. They've made enough to get through us, or at least keep us occupied, which will leave Bella unguarded, wide open. It was always about getting to Bella!" My words came out disjointed, I knew that some of it didn't come out well either, but I was hurried. I wasn't sure how much time we had.

As I caught my breath I began thinking more about the theory, I knew what was going on now, I knew what they were planning. I knew they would have to be given a n order at some point. That's when I would see it. I would see the order, and I would know the time line and the destination.

Jasper's arms dropped from around me and the faces around the room told the story. The saw it, exactly as I had, all. The pieces fit together perfectly.

"Who is it?" Rosalie asked. It was the million dollar question.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm still trying to figure that one out."

"Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"He was pulling up to Bella's as I was leaving. I thought it best to wait until after graduation before telling him. We don't want the town suspicious because non of us are at our graduation. Just be glad he can't read Bella's mind."

"Graduation, Alice. You have to go." Esme said, her eyes wide as she watched me rock on my feet.

"That doesn't matter." I said, and it really didn't. It wasn't as though it was my first time.

"She's right, Alice. Edward will get suspicious if you aren't there." Carlisle was empathetic.

I darted up the stairs quickly and picked up my cap and robe, they had to be the worst color of any school I had attended. Yellow had never been a good color for me. I was back in front of my family before they had much time to start speaking. The eyed me curiously, I had calmed a little, my thought patterns were revolving around the fact that I was no longer blind. I would see when they chose to make their move. It was all I could do to stay focused now, I still had the party to get through.

"I'll get there, walk, and I'll be back. We need to come up with something."

Without another word I ran out of the door and into the forest in the direction of the school, running at my speed would give me more than enough time to walk before taking off towards the house again. I just had to stay away from Edward and keep my mind occupied. I had the perfect solution. I skulked around quietly outside of the school, it was just out of Edward's range for reading thoughts, I was, for once, glad I was one of the people we had tested that theory with. It made it easier to gauge the distances I had to keep away from him when it was imperative I hide something from him.

I heard my name called an appeared behind the person called before me, but ahead of Edward. As soon as I got close I began translating the Battle Hymn of the Republic into Arabic. My plan, once that was done, was the Battle Hymn in Korean sign language. Something that was still a little tricky, because I would often get it confused with Mandarin. I waited patiently, taking painstaking amounts of time arranging the nouns and verbs so it would come out as a direct translation. I would picture the words in Arabic as I translated each, squiggly lines were how Jasper had referred to them.

As soon as I had my diploma in my hands I took off out of the side door. I had to get back, not only to organize the house, it was entirely too late to call off the party now, and form a plan of action. I was still trying to catch some of the images flying through my mind, but at the same time stopping myself from pushing to hard. I didn't want to miss anything.

I turned on the fairy lights that lined the road that curved to the house as I passed them, as I approached the house, I was amazed that Bella had made a decision to tell Edward. I knew what was coming. As soon as he could get away from Bella and Charlie, he would call us, he would also silently follow them everywhere they went so they wouldn't be vulnerable.

I ran up the porch steps and into the house. Everyone was stood around in the kitchen. It was one of the few spots not decorated for the party.

"Alice," Jasper said kissing the top of my head and pulling me to him.

"Have you seen anything?" Carlisle asked me as I settled into Jasper's embrace.

"No, the flickers are getting stronger now, as soon as they decide on coming, I will see them. I have no doubt about that."

Carlisle nodded as he paced the kitchen.

"How did we miss this?" asked Emmett, who looked dangerously close to smiling.

"Too much going on at the same time, it was right under our noses but we were all trying to do too much." Esme said sadly.

"Well, on the up side, we know what we're looking for now, and like Alice said, she will know when the decide to come." said Rosalie. She was dressed for the party and leaning against the counter.

"Okay, Jasper, I think we'll need to get to those training sessions so we can get on top of this." Carlisle said as his eyes wandered around the group.

Jasper nodded.

"That's about all we can do until Alice see's something." Carlisle continued. "Hopefully, it'll give us a little time, so we can find some extra's to help us."

"I'll get on the internet later and see if I can find anything new in Seattle. I'm sure there's something we can find now that we have an idea what this is about." Jasper added.

"Why Bella?" Esme asked, her eyes full of concern.

The room went quiet, we all considered exactly what is was about Bella that was so appealing to vampires, and why she was such a threat.

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**A/N: Happy Monday . . . I apologize for the Chapter, I am really not sure about it, I kept repeating myself and dancing around in circles. It's also pretty short because I rewrote it probably about four times.**

**Thank you to my reviewers, and alert adders, YOU GUYS ROCK. (Sorry for this disappointing chapter ;o(, I'll make it up to you.)**

**On the upside, I started writing the next chapter and it's better ;0)**


	13. Chapter 13 Party Crashers

_**All Things Twilight belong to the talented Stephenie Meyer. ;0)**_

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**Chapter 13 - Party Crashers**

Edward, as I had predicted, called as soon as he was away from Bella and Charlie, we had the same discussion with him as we'd had amongst ourselves. There was nothing we could do until I saw something, but the silver lining was, I _would_ see something. I knew what I was looking for. If I got the information early enough we could head them off before they arrived in forks, and we could keep Bella safe while we were gone.

I was still intent on keeping the party, there was nothing we could do tonight and everything was arranged, it would give us some release before we had to face this. Bella, would no doubt complain, but it was too late now. In about an hour a large portion of Forks High School would come strolling through the door. It would change nothing that was going on with the newborns.

Edward had followed Charlie and Bella and kept an eye on them while they went to dinner. He was keeping a watchful eye on them. Nothing would happen to them, I'd already checked, but with the impending threat, Edward was taking no chances. He stayed with them until they arrived at the house safely, I expected no less.

Charlie dropped Bella at the house and disappeared. He had politely declined the invitation, he didn't want to cramp Bella's style was his excuse to me, but I now knew where Bella got her social skills from, Charlie disliked parties just as much, if not more, than his daughter. I was almost surprised he didn't pull his chief of police card to protest attending the festivities.

"Unbelievable." I heard Bella's voice as Edward opened the door. I knew that the house was wildly decorated and it came from my mind. The entire house looked like a night club, it had turned out better than I had expected. The lights did nothing to dispel the eerie look of our pale skin, but it was too late to change the color scheme now.

"Alice will be Alice." I heard Edward's retort.

Bella's eyes widened as she looked around the room in disbelief. Esme had informed me that I had a talent. I took it as the compliment she had intended it to be. I knew I had a tendency to overdo things a little, but the outcome was always worth it.

"Edward!" I called, I was sorting through stacks of CD's it was difficult trying to decide on any genre of music, especially when a diverse crowd would be attending. Catering to the tastes of few was far easier than that of many. I couldn't decide what to go with. I knew Edward would have an answer, music was his 'thing'.

"I need your advice," I said gesturing to the stacks I had in front of me. "Should we give them familiar and comforting? Or" — I pointed to another pile of CD's to my right — "Educate their taste in music?"

"Keep it comforting,' Edward advised. "You can only lead a horse to water."

Humans could be so fickle, I decided. So I started boxing the more eclectic CD's I had included.

"I think I'm underdressed." I heard Bella whisper to Edward, I looked at her and she was eyeing the clothes that I had on.

"You're perfect." Edward cooed at her.

"You'll do." I corrected him and grinned at Bella.

"Thanks," Bella sighed, frustration evident. I didn't think she would appreciate two new fashion statements in one day. And my original plan to whisk her away sooner so I could rearrange the clothes she was wearing to look acceptable, were squashed with the newest information. She had to do. "Do you really think people will come?" She asked, I scowled at her words, I couldn't understand why she was so hesitant.

"Everyone will come," Edward said reassuring her. "They're all dying to see the inside of the reclusive Cullens' mystery house."

"Fabulous,"

I continued to make the final adjustments on everything, I uncovered the food. I hadn't been unable to make my own so I had called a caterer. It was cheating and deviating from my original plan but it was the best I could do. I really didn't trust anything I made. It wouldn't do to have the entire town's youth food poisoned at the Cullens' party.

Edward and Bella made the rounds and discussed what she had said, they didn't have the heart to tell her that I'd already talked extensively with them about it, and it appeared Edward felt the same way. Unfortunately, discussing our upcoming offensive tactics in front of her, did nothing to ease her worry. She seemed close to panic as she stood wide eyed and listened to the men talk tactics.

All too soon, the doorbell rang and our guests began arriving, I headed towards the stereo to turn the music up on my way to the door. I was going to have fun. This was the first time we would have more than one human in our house at one time. The thought amused me.

I pulled the door open and in front of me stood Jessica Stanley, Mike Newton, Tyler, Conner, Austin, Lee, Samantha and Lauren.

All eyes were immediately darting to every corner of the room. I had no idea what they had expected to find, but I was sure this was nothing close to what they had formed in their imaginations. Our house was beautiful and modern, Edward had once told me some of the teens speculated that it was terribly old fashioned and had turn of the century furniture, not to mention that the house was haunted by gruesome ghouls. They could be quite creative when they wanted to be.

Bella headed towards the guests without hesitation, or complaint, I could honestly say I was proud of her, she seemed to go with her instincts. Before she'd made her way through the group the doorbell had rung again and Bella opened it, Angela and Ben strolled in happily, followed by Eric and Katie. Bella immediately went into something I didn't know she was capable of, host mode. She was perfect, she greeted everyone and spent some time exchanging pleasantries with them before moving on to the next person. I grinned at her as I flitted around making sure everyone had what they needed.

The music changed well, I'd loaded a veritable assortment of Cd's and let them shuffle through. One of Emmett's favorite songs came on at the most inopportune time, but it had made me laugh. Poor Mike hadn't expected it.

Emmett had a song he dubbed his and Rosalie's life story, it was a song called 'Next Contestant' by a band named Nickleback. The chorus had just began to play when Emmett caught Mike watching Rosalie on the other side of the room, she was unconsciously swaying her hips to the music. A big grin spread across Emmett's face and Mike caught it, Mike nervously stepped away as the lights caught Emmett. It was a typical Emmett move. He enjoyed men ogling his wife, but he also like intimidating them. I had to admit, it was fun watching poor mike squirm uncomfortably, he'd never been one of my favorite people, too ordinary.

As the house filled with our guests, the party began to pick up, even with our presence, people didn't seem quite so on edge. I felt comfortable moving around the crowd, and they didn't seem so bothered by us as we moved amongst them. Soon there were people dancing. Rosalie had taken to the side of the room so she could laugh at the rhythmically challenged. I had never approved of her little games but they kept her entertained.

It was a complete success, and went far and beyond anything I had expected. My worst fear had been that it would turn out like the prom scene in Footloose. Everyone stood around awkwardly, not knowing what to do, but there seemed to be no hesitance from this crowd. I almost felt guilty about judging them for the last couple of years.

All good things come to an end, and although the party was still raging, I was out. A vision hit me hard, it wasn't good so it almost took the air out of me. Visions with undesirable endings drained me temporarily, made existentially worse when the were multiplied by twenty and I found myself heading for the quietest corner I could find. With the music as loud as it was and having no idea where Jasper was I disappeared alone, knowing that if Edward was close by, he would see it.

There were a large group of Vampires, all were heading toward were they had been instructed, where they'd been told to find the girl. They were thirsty, almost more thirsty than I believed could be possible for ones that fed so much. Intermittently, I could see one of the vampires carrying something, I wasn't sure what it was until I saw the red shirt. They were carrying Bella's clothes and they were heading to Forks. They were all on foot so we had time, fighting amongst themselves were hindering their progression. We had less than a week. They were coming, they had Bella's scent, and they wanted blood.

Edward was at my side, but I couldn't regain my composure. The whole vision had washed an aching over me, I felt so weak and if I hadn't of been a vampire, I would throw up on the spot. Edward leaned over me and spoke quickly into my ear.

"Alice, are you alright?"

"Yes, we need to tell Carlisle, did you see it?"

"Yes, Alice. Why are you having trouble?" Edward asked, his voice concerned. He'd never seen me react to a vision like this. It was unusual, and although I'd had them before, this was the biggest in magnitude that I'd ever suffered.

"It's because all of the decisions hit me at once. It wasn't only one who had made the decision, it was about twenty of them. It's a little crippling when that happens." I breathed heavily. "Go tell Carlisle and the others, I'll be there when I compose myself."

Edward took off into the crowd and I tried to straighten myself out. My legs, for the first time that I could remember felt like jelly from exhaustion. I couldn't sleep but I sometimes, very rarely, felt exhausted. This was one of those times. I held on to the door frame and replayed one of the identical visions through my head. It was horrific, especially knowing what they were coming for. Bella's scent hit me before she arrived by my side.

"What, Alice, what? What did you see?" Bella begged, she looked terrified and her hands were clasped in front of her to amplify the plea.

I heard my name called from across the room, it was Edward, he was speaking for my ears only.

"Alice," he was by the stairs, his face blank from the terror that was impending, the putrescence that was coming, for Bella. "Don't tell her yet, let me speak with Carlisle first." He disappeared into the shadows as I acquiesced to his request in my head. '_I won't.'_

I was taken by surprise when the doorbell rang, I couldn't understand how I'd missed it, but it soon became crystal clear, there was only one thing that took me by surprise. . . Werewolf!

"Who invited the werewolf?" I lamented, looking directly at Bella now.

"Guilty." Her face matched her comment.

"Well, go take care of it, I have to talk to Carlisle." I took off and heard Bella call out behind me, but I couldn't stop, I needed to talk this through with our family.

"No, Alice, wait!"

I ducked around all the people in the house and surreptitiously moved the stairs, I could now smell the wolves on the other side of the door, it wasn't helping my churning stomach. I made it to Carlisle's study without incident. The rest of the family were already convened inside, as Edward relayed the vision.

Immediately Jasper opened his arms and pulled me close to him. I knew that he felt my anguish at the mental overload. I rushed into his arms and placed my head on his strong chest, glad of the serenity he was now gently washing over me.

"So, when are they going to be here, Alice?" Carlisle asked me.

"Less than a week from what I can tell, they're on foot and fighting amongst themselves, but they all have the same objective. The all want the reward she's offered them." I offered.

"Which is?" Rosalie asked, sitting on the chair in the corner.

"Bella, among other things. I'm not sure what else it is, they neither thought about it or made a decision about it, and they never discussed it. So it's hard to tell."

"Who is it?" asked Esme, getting frustrated.

"I don't know, I don't recognize the one giving the orders, so it makes me think that someone is being very smart about it." I said, looking around the room.

"We do seem to have a few choices nowadays." Carlisle said thoughtfully. "Well, I think we need to bring Bella in on this, she doesn't need to be lied to seeing as she was the one who had the epiphany in the first place. We should also start the training tonight, after the party. We need to be prepared." Carlisle deliberated.

I nodded, "I'll go talk to Bella."

"I can do that." said Edward making a move towards the door.

"Edward, with all due respect, you need to help Carlisle plan, and that look on your face right now will only scare Bella. I had the vision, she asked me about it, I can take care of it. Oh, and the wolves are here!" I added cringing into Jasper waiting for the reaction.

"WHAT!" Edward's voice boomed, if it hadn't of been for the music, I was sure the humans that were enjoying themselves downstairs would have scattered.

"Calm down, Bella's asking them to leave. If you're going to get this angry about it, you need to stay upstairs!" I said as I tapped Jasper's arm and stepped out of his hold.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded, I headed out and down the stairs. I could feel Jasper following me, the wolves made him nervous and he didn't trust them at all. Especially since the treaty line incident.

As I headed down the stairs I saw two wolves heading further into the house towards Bella and Jacob, he didn't come unprotected, I couldn't blame him, I wouldn't walk onto his territory alone either, especially as unwelcome as he was here.

I watched as the wolves swiftly danced through the room, I had to help Bella, the wolves looked intent about something, they were too focused.

They stood around her folding their arms and Bella immediately looked intimidated. She scanned the room looking for any one of us. I started down the stairs to help her eject our unwanted guests.

"Alice," she called. I heard it only because of my sensitive hearing, I looked at her once again and narrowed my eyes. There was a desperation in her voice that made me uncomfortable, and the wolves were leaning over her looking threatening. I sped up as much as I could due to the occupants in the room and stopped at her side. The wolves leaned away from me, their smell was intense and the way their faces were screwed up told me I had the same effect on them. I wrapped my arm around Bella's waist.

"I need to talk to you." I whispered into her ear. I was hoping she could control her fuzzy friends, and walk away from them with free will. I wasn't in the mood to argue with the mutts.

"Er, Jake, I'll see you later. . . ." muttered Bella as we tried to walk away.

The big dog shot out his arm and planted it against the wall to stop us. "Hey, not so fast."

I could feel my patience wearing thin and I looked up at him with all the ferocity I could muster with everything that was going on. "Excuse me?" I spat vehemently.

"Tell us what's going on." His low rumbling voice rolled out as a growl and I felt my anger intensify. But before I could say another word, Jasper was on the other side of his arm, his eyes black with the fury I knew he had raging inside him. When it came to threatening behavior directed at me or my family, Jasper lost his temper, and quickly.

The dog retrieved his arm before he lost it permanently, he'd had us trapped against a wall and I was sure he was misjudging my strength due to my size. He also seemed to have a large issue with personal space, as this was a mistake he had repeated twice now.

"We have a right to know," Jacob was still staring at me, anger burning around his dark eyes.

Jasper stepped in front of me and rather than backing away, the wolves tensed, waiting for an offensive move to be made.

"Hey, hey," Bella sang out, a touch of hysteria in her tone. "This is a party, remember?"

The dog and I were still staring at one another around Jasper, Jasper was still glaring icily at the dog. I wasn't sure what Jacob was trying to communicate to me, but I could see something behind his eyes that gave me an idea, it made me wonder if this had been his intention.

"It's okay, Jasper. He actually has a point."

Jasper held his position, and his glare. Both were cold and frightening.

"What did you see, Alice?" Bella finally asked, trying to go around the current situation.

I kept my eyes on Jacob for a while longer before turning to Bella to explain.

"The decision's been made."

"You're going to Seattle?" Bella asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"No,"

Bella's face drained, her pale skin grew lighter. "They're coming here," her voice was weak and terribly shaky. I could see the wolves out of the corner of my eye, they were planted to the spot but shaking ever so slightly, I knew they were trying to hold onto their anger.

"Yes." I answered.

"To Forks," Bella's voice crept into a whisper in understanding.

"Yes."

"For?"

I knew what she wanted me to say, she wanted me to tell her they were after her, that they were making a journey to the small town of Forks, just to extinguish her. I knew how much it would be for her to take in, but she deserved the truth, she deserved to be prepared.

I nodded, "One carried your red shirt."

I couldn't see Jasper's face, and his stance told me he was uncomfortable, but I heard his voice as he said what he needed to say. "We can't let them come that far. There aren't enough of us to protect the town."

"I know," I told him. "But it doesn't matter where we stop them. There still won't be enough of us, and some of them will come here to search."

"No!" Bella's voiced came out as a strangled whisper, she knew the consequences, a newborn army would have no qualms about wiping out whatever came across it's path. We all knew it.

"Alice," Bella's voice was barely audible, "I have to go, I have to get away from here."

"That won't help. It's not like we're dealing with a tracker. They'll still come looking here first."

"Then I have to go meet them!" Bella's strained voice pushed from her, I could hear how frantic she was, and I knew that Jasper was feeling every bit of that despair. "If they find what they're looking for, maybe they'll go away and not hurt anyone else!"

"Bella!" I said, I hated that her mind always went to self sacrifice first. I was glad that I had been so persistent to tell her, this kind of talk would push Edward over the edge. It was something we really didn't need right now.

"Hold it," The dog spoke, his voice was quiet but commanding. "_What _is coming?"

I spun to look at him, the guy had no tact, he was rude and obnoxious. "Our kind. Lot's of them."

"Why?"

"For Bella. That's all we know."

"There are too many for you?" he asked, I could hear the smug arrogance emanating from him.

Jasper's shoulders squared off at the off hand remark, "We have a few advantages, dog. It will be an even fight."

"No," The dog smiled fervently, I could see the mind working behind the eyes, he'd come to a conclusion. "It won't be _even_."

"Excellent!" I said through my teeth, I knew what he was talking about, the fight wouldn't be even because they wolves would be fighting along side us. I knew it the moment the flickers of visions stopped coming to me. I could see the twinkle in his eye as he reveled at the thought of a fight. It seemed that was something the wolves didn't back down from, it was the part of their instinct they enjoyed. And Jacob would want to protect Bella, just as much as we did.

I could feel the grin spread across my face, it was reflected by Jacob, who was stood opposite me.

"Everything just disappeared of course. That's inconvenient, but, all things considered, I'll take it." I said, I didn't see why we hadn't thought of it sooner. So many factors in this brought us together. We would be fighting for the same causes. We would be fighting for a common goal.

"We'll have to coordinate," Jacob said, his mind thinking everything through as he spoke. "It won't be easy for us. Still, this is our job more than yours."

"I wouldn't go that far, but we need help. We aren't going to be picky."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Bella said, suddenly realizing what we were talking about.

The dog and I were closer together as we'd schemed than I thought, his smell was overpowering, but I could deal with that if it got us through this unscathed. With the wolves we'd have a flat out victory. Jacob and I averted our eyes to Bella.

"Coordinate?" She asked angrily through her clenched jaw. She wasn't happy about any of this.

"You didn't honestly think you were going to keep us out of this?" Jacob asked Bella, his impatience making a small appearance.

"You _are_ staying out of this!" Bella insisted, she looked ready to plant her fists into her hips and wag her finger at him angrily.

"Your psychic doesn't think so."

"Alice — tell them no!" She demanded. "They'll get killed."

The three wolves laughed loudly at the implication, I was surprised she had so little faith in there abilities. I had to make her understand what them fighting with us would mean, how this would stop anyone in forks from getting hurt. I just needed to find a way to say it.

"Bella," I kept my tones soothing, without sounding patronizing. "Separately we all could get killed. Together —"

"It'll be no problem," Jacob finished with a grin. One of his friends laughed at the prospect.

"How many?" his laughing friend asked.

"No!" Bella shouted, her temper rising at being ignored.

"It changes — twenty-one today, but the numbers are going down." I continued choosing not listening to Bella's protests.

"Why?" asked Jacob.

"Long story," I was going to continue, but the song changed and it drew my attention briefly and I realized that almost the entire teenage population of Forks was stood around us. "And this isn't the place for it."

"Later tonight?" Jacob asked eagerly.

"Yes," Jasper spoke quickly."We were already planning a . . . strategic meeting. If you're going to fight with us, you'll need some instruction."

The wolves grumbled at the words, I knew that they had taken his words as an insult, no matter how much they weren't intended to be so.

"No." Bella whined, she knew she was fighting a losing battle. The two sides she normally had to keep separated were now banding together, and weren't listening to her. She didn't like that one little bit.

"This will be odd," Jasper stated, " I never considered working together. This has to be a first."

"No doubt about that," Jacob added, he was almost turned to leave. He wanted to get to his pack so he could strategize and discuss the prospect of this. "We've got to get back to Sam. What time?"

"What's too late for you?" I asked.

The wolves rolled their eyes at the question, I didn't realize I'd insulted them.

"What time?" Jacob asked again, to emphasize his point.

"Three o'clock?"

"Where?"

"About ten minutes due north of the Hoh Forest ranger station. Come in from the west and you'll be able to follow our scent in."

"We'll be there."

The three of them turned towards the door. Bella, frantic, made one last plea.

"Wait, Jake!" she called, "_Please!_ Don't do this!"

The other two wolves continued to the door and Jacob paused, turning back to Bella with a grin, "Don't be ridiculous, Bells. You're giving me a much better gift than the one I gave you."

"No!" Bella shouted again, but Jacob hadn't heard her, the music had overpowered her voice.

His disappeared out of the door.

I took Bella and Jasper by the hand and headed towards the stairs, we had to give the good news to the rest of the family who were upstairs trying to figure out how to get around this and survive.

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**A/N: Okay on my profile there is a link to the song that was playing when Mike was staring at Rosalie, if you listen to the lyrics, they really do work. Every time I hear that song, I think of Rose and Emmett.**

**That chapter seemed to flow at little better, you'll have to let me know what you think :) Please ;P**

**I just wanted to give you guys a heads up, I work at a magazine as a graphic designer and my deadline is coming up, so I may miss a day; don;t worry I won'y have forgotten about you, and I'm sure I'll make it up to you, I always try to anyway ;0D . . .**

**Thank you for the reviews and alerts, you guys are awesome . . . and YOU ROCK! . . . thank you to Caww and Mrs. Knightly for being ever so supportive, you two are an inspiration, thank you, hugs till tomorrow -L**


	14. Chapter 14 Moonlit Movements

_**All things Twilight belong to the Talented Stephenie Meyer**_

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**Chapter 14- Moonlit Movements**

Bella was still grumbling about it all when she left the house. The party had continued for an hour without our participation as we'd discussed our stroke of luck and how advantageous this would be in our plight.

Bella worried even when she was forced downstairs to continue the hostess act for the party. All of the family had been happy at the revelation. No matter how much animosity we had towards the wolves before this, they were the only way we could win this and not make any mistakes, the only way we could stop any of these young ones from getting into town.

When the party finally dissipated and we were left alone again, we talked about what we were going to do, how we could lure the newborns away from Forks. No matter what happened we had to keep them away from Charlie's house, they would smell Bella's scent immediately and destroy the house in their efforts to get to her. There would be no way to cover this with Charlie, he was the police chief.

As Edward took an argumentative Bella home, it was purely for Charlie's benefit because she insisted on being at the meeting, we each tried to reassure her. The whole mood around the family had lifted. It had gone from being a dangerous situation to being a walk in the park, something easy that would in no way be detrimental to our survival. It was still obvious Bella had no faith in the wolves because she continued to protest and tried to convince us they would kill themselves.

The house was quiet for a while and I cleaned up most of the residual mess from the party then followed Jasper to our room. I collapsed with him on the bed and we held one another. So much had gone on in the last couple of days, we'd hardly had time for one another. Jasper was in military mode, so cuddling was his limitation on things. I was perfectly happy with that, I was still feeling a little off from the twenty visions at once. His scent, strong arms and deep satin voice, always held the ability to make me feel better. I always felt so safe and love when I was with him. He was my idea of perfection.

We stayed in the middle of our bed cuddling and waiting for three o'clock. He would run his finger through my hair and kiss the top of my head as I occasionally moved around as I thought of something else I would need to take care of before the newborns arrived. The house was silent, not one of our family members were talking amongst themselves or moving around the house. I was beginning to think that they were doing the same thing as Jasper and I. It was peaceful.

"Is everyone relaxing?" I asked in hushed tones because of the silence that encompassed us.

Jasper nodded and grinned. "Since the talk with the wolves, the house has lost all it's tension, all I can feel is relaxation."

I smiled and cuddled back into his arms. "What time is it?" I asked.

'A little after two, we should probably head out in a bit, we can take our time and enjoy the evening."

"I'd like that." I whispered in response.

As quietly as we could, Jasper and I got up from the bed and headed out if the house. The evening was quiet and the moon was hidden so we had the freedom to move around as we liked. We walked slowly into the darkness holding hands. Having such a burden removed from our shoulders made it easy to just be with one another. I knew that Jasper was looking forward to the training session that we were heading towards, he much preferred this, to be in a playful atmosphere like it would be tonight, but using it in a battle, like the one quickly approaching, he'd begun to hate it, another piece of his past he wanted to leave behind, and he didn't like the idea of invoking the Volturi. It was something that we'd all discussed rationally after the wolves had offered their help. I had been seeing flickers of the Volturi as they began monitoring the situation in Seattle and I had heard Carlisle's name mentioned. We would send the wolves away if they showed, the Volturi did not honor treaties with werewolves.

My mind began to drift from this to other things, the party, the appearance of the wolves, how Jasper's reaction had made my inside flip because he was being so protective. The excitement of the wolves, and the reaction of Bella.

I couldn't help thinking about Bella's first reaction to any impending danger and it never ceased to amaze me, because it was always such a selfless act, she always felt such a need to protect us, no matter how much stronger than her we were. I was more attuned to her now, I had been keeping her in the forefront of my mind for so long, I was almost attuned to her. I would get most of her decisions without looking now, she was still dwelling on the self sacrifice, and I hated some of the actions she was taking to save us all. I would have to step in if they became more focused.

Jasper watched me quizzically as we walked, I knew he wasn't understanding my emotions, I should be feeling relieved, not frustrated and confused. I sighed before I gave in to his look.

"I was thinking about Bella." I admitted.

Jasper nodded his head and smiled. "She worries."

"I know, I was thinking about her reaction to the newborns coming here. She always seems to suggest putting herself in their paths so they won't hurt the people she loves, she sacrifices herself for others continually."

"She is selfless, but I also think it has a little to do with her lack of self preservation. You see how most humans react to us, but the first moment Bella saw us she didn't even flinch. Even when Edward brought her to the house to meet us all, she was nervous but not how humans usually are. It's hard to explain, Bella is quite extraordinary."

'Took you this long to figure that out?" I laughed.

Jasper wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to him. "I'm glad you have her, I'm glad Edward has her. To me, she is already my sister. It will be exponentially easier when she is one of us, I won't be afraid to get close to her."

"I know you feel left out sometimes, Jazz. But you are doing extremely well, need I remind you our house was brimming with humans tonight."

Jasper laughed and kissed the top of my head happily. "That's my girl, Alice. Always the optimist."

I laughed and stopped walking. We stood completely still looking in one another's eyes for the longest time, I finally stood on my toes and he met me halfway, our lips met. Jasper placed his hands on either side of my face to stop me from moving away and my hands came to rest on his sculpted chest. We lost ourselves in the feel of one another. He always knew how to react to me, and her certainly knew how to get a reaction from me.

I wasn't aware how long of how long we'd been stood there, but Emmett breezed past us and then stopped to catch Rosalie in mid stride. He spun to us and grinned.

"You left early to make out?" he laughed, his voice booming and echoing around the silent forest.

Rosalie squirmed from his arms and smacked him gently for manhandling her, she turned and mouthed an apology at me.

I smiled in return. "No Emmett, we were talking first." I said rolling my eyes playfully. "You always pick the best moments to show up don't you," I grinned at him affectionately. He was a great brother, playful most of the time and very witty, he always had something to say. He was also brutally honest at times. Realization crossed Emmett's face and he nudged Rosalie gently.

"This is perfect," Emmett headed towards us happily and planted his large hands on our shoulders, "Rose and I were planning a race, you two up for it?"

"The stakes?" asked Jasper, his face animated.

I rolled my eyes and headed towards Rosalie, I grinned at her and winked. I made some head movements to tell her to follow my lead. She nodded grinning.

"I have an idea." I said putting my hand on my hips. Both Jasper and Emmett looked towards us, their eyebrows were raised. "Girls against guys, both have to be over the line to call it a win. If Rose and I win, we get to have you as our servants for twenty four hours, we call the shots, no questions asked. If you win, vice versa."

Jasper and Emmett looked at each other and then back at Rosalie and I. They huddled for a second and spoke so quietly that the sound was inaudible. I spun and looked at Rosalie.

"If they agree, when they say deal run, don't wait to for a go just wait until the deal is sealed and take them by surprise, maybe it will slow down their new gambling run." I practically mouthed.

Rosalie grinned wickedly and nodded, I returned the grin and spun on my heels.

"Well?" I asked.

"Deal . . ." before Emmett could get the entire word out Rosalie and I had taken off towards the clearing, both of us were laughing wildly as we dodged and weaved through the trees. I could hear Emmett and Jasper behind us. They were still a distance behind us, but Rosalie and I held hands as we hopped happily into the clearing, still laughing.

Emmett and Jasper stopped and shook their heads laughing. "That's cheating." Emmett laughed.

"I think not," I said, pointing a finger at him. "You accepted the terms, there were never any rules. I just challenged you and you accepted."

"Sorry boys," laughed Rosalie, "maybe you should define the terms before agreeing to a bet!"

"What's going on here?" sighed Esme, a smile dancing on her lips as she watched us throwing our banter around playfully.

"The girls are cheating, again." sighed Jasper, exasperated.

"Jasper Whitlock Hale, hold your tongue. You two aren't smart when it comes to the terms of your wagers, that's really not our problem." I said grinning at him.

"The terms?" asked Carlisle wrapping his arms around Esme's waist smiling at his children.

"Oh, the boys will be slaves for the day." smiled Rosalie flicking her hair over her shoulder casually.

"Hmm, Rosalie,' I sighed happily, "What's the first order of business?"

"Well, I think we should let them know that their twenty-four hours begins at six am and will continue to six am the day after." she laughed and pointed at Emmett.

"Why did we pick the cruel and unusual punishment?" sighed Jasper.

Emmett laughed loudly, and slung his arm around Rosalie's shoulders. "My baby will be gentle." he said confidently.

Rosalie snorted, but her answer was interrupted by the arrival of Edward and Bella. They moved slowly towards us talking quietly amongst themselves. I knew the wolves wouldn't be far away if they were coming so we began to get down to business. The playfulness was put aside.

I tried to see if there was anymore information I could give them, but I was blocked immediately and propelled into nothingness. I should have known better.

"Damn wolves," I muttered under my breath. I hated that I went blind when the came about, I crossed my arms in frustration, watching the darkness of the clearing waiting for the shadow at the far side to reveal the wolves. I was disturbed by Edward's voice traveling to me, across the large space between me and them. "The werewolves are on their way, so she can't see anything that will happen now. It makes her uncomfortable to be blind." he said, with a chuckle.

I looked up at him and stuck my tongue out at him. '_Just as uncomfortable as you do when you're trying to figure out what Bella's thinking!_' I laughed at him.

"Hey, Edward," Emmett's voice bellowed. "Hey, Bella. Is he going to let you practice, too?"

Edward rolled his eyes and groaned. "Please, Emmett, don't give her any ideas."

"When will our guests arrive?" Carlisle asked Edward. Edward listened for their thoughts quietly.

"A minute and a half. But I'm going to have to translate. They don't trust us enough to use their human forms."

Carlisle nodded in understanding. "This is hard for them. I'm grateful they're coming at all."

Bella's eyes grew wide as she stared up at Edward. "They're coming as wolves?"

Edward nodded in response, as much as he hated Bella to be scared, he knew that her being scared of them in wolf form would keep Jacob away from her. His eyes grew large now and he turned to us quickly.

"Prepare yourselves — they've been holding out on us."

"What do you mean?" I asked moving closer towards them.

"Shh," he said and stared into the darkness.

I heard them before I saw them, their paw prints were less graceful than their human form but they were still very close to being silent. Then they appeared at the tree line and Edward's words made perfect sense. There were more than we had expected. Ten overly large wolves stepped out of the shadows and onto the clearing. They looked terrifying, if I hadn't know that there were humans in the mind of these beasts I would truly be scared.

"_Damn_," Emmett muttered his deep voice kept too low to travel, "Did you ever see anything like it?"

Esme and Rosalie shot a look at one another.

"What is it?" Bella whispered. "I can't see."

"The pack has grown." I barely heard Edward's words. I was in awe.

As the wolves came to a stop Carlisle stepped forward cautiously.

"Welcome," Carlisle's strong, calm, reassuring voice crossed the field easily.

"Thank you," Edward interpreted for them. "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control."

"That is more than enough," Carlisle answered. "My son Jasper" — Carlisle motioned to Jasper, my eyes immediately read his body, he was tense, he didn't like being so close. — "has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they can be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."

"They are different from you?" Edward asked, in the translatory tone he had adopted.

Carlisle nodded. "They are all very new — only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you — it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves."

The wolves rumbled at Carlisle's words. They understood, as we did what a blessing this was. The newborns instinctual habit to fight amongst themselves made our task easier.

"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary," Edward said.

"We'll see how it plays out." Carlisle smiled at their enthusiasm.

"Do you know when and how they'll arrive?"

"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path."

"Thank you for the information. We will watch."

Each of the wolves slowly laid on the grass, all eyes were on us. Jasper stepped forward, he was uncomfortable, I knew him well but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. He looked to Edward for confirmation and Edward nodded. Jasper turned away from the wolves.

"Carlisle's right." Jasper said to us, speaking clearly, "They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get their arms around you, and second, don't go for the obvious kill. That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?"

Emmett stepped out of line and towards Jasper. I could see his huge grin and I giggled at his enthusiasm.

"Okay, Emmett first. He's the best example of a newborn attack." I could hear the smirk in Jasper's voice.

"I'll _try _not to break anything, " Emmett muttered as his eyes narrowed.

"What I meant is that Emmett relies on his strength. He's very straightforward about the attack. The newborns won't be trying anything subtle, either. Just go for the easy kill, Emmett."

Jasper backed up and I saw the glint in his eye, his body tensed as he waited for the pounce.

"Okay, Emmett — try to catch me."

Jasper started moving quickly, our eyes were adapted to quick movements due to our enhanced vision so I could see Jasper darting around the circle quickly. His movements were erratic but graceful. He was weaving in different directions. Emmett charged, his grin spreading across his face as his eyes followed Jasper'. He pounced and grabbed but came up with only air. Jasper continued to move around him quickly and Emmett pounced again quickening his movements as he watched Jasper.

Jasper was always one step ahead, again Emmett came up with air. Then Jasper pounced on Emmett's back as Emmett swept past him in an offensive attack, his teeth inches from Emmett's neck. Emmett froze, and then spat out a string of profanities.

A muffled noise came from the wolves, but the tone was appreciative. I was sure the only action involving vampires that they had seen was the fight they were involved in. It meant that they had no time to appreciate the grace of our movements, the speed at which we executed each defensive maneuver.

"Again," Emmett almost growled, his smile was gone, he didn't like to lose.

"It's my turn," Edward stated.

The men in our family could play like this for hours, they consistently tested one another and pushed themselves until they had the desired results. But this wasn't the purpose of this exercise. This was to ready ourselves for the army heading in our direction.

"In a minute." Jasper grinned, and I immediately saw his decision, I was glad the wolves hadn't affected my ability to see these decisions, they weren't involved in this directly, they were only involved with the fight against the army, which meant I had no outcome to the outcome of the entire fight. I would still have the ability to dodge my attackers though. There was hope.

"I want to show Bella something." Jasper continued. Jasper waved me too him, and I happily obliged.

"I know you worry about her," he continued as I headed towards him, Jasper loved to try this with me, he was always coming up with inventive ways to try and trick me. "I want to show you why that's not necessary."

I stood in the center of the field and watched as Jasper took his position and crouched low to the ground. I grinned to myself as he thought out his attack. I smiled and then closed my eyes.

Seconds before Jasper was about to land his attack I hopped to the right, just enough to be out of his reach. Jasper landed on the other side of me. I heard his playful growl as it sounded quietly beside me. I grinned to myself happily.

Jasper immediately turned and headed towards me again, and I hopped out of his way mere seconds before contact. I kept my eyes closed and the smile on my face, I could see when he crouched, when he sprung and more importantly I could see impact. I saw it all seconds before he executed it. His next attack had his hands aiming for my waist and I stepped a little further out of his reach.

Jasper, now lost in the moment began speeding up his attacks, but my movements were faster and he missed me every time. I started ducking, curling, spinning and bending. Then he came around in a curve and I took my chance. I spun on my heel out of his reach and hopped onto his back, and laughed. Victorious as always. My mouth was close to his neck.

"Gotcha," I giggled and kissed his neck playfully.

Jasper laughed at my craftiness. "You truly are one frightening little monster."

I had forgotten about our audience until a rumble ran through them, they weren't expecting my movements to be quite so effective. Edward's words confirmed my suspicions, they didn't expect to see my movements as I danced out of Jasper's reach, neither did they expect my speed. What they didn't need to remember was that I couldn't see them and was therefore vulnerable to their attacks.

"It's good for them to learn some respect," Edward was amused at their thoughts. "My turn."

I ran to Bella's side, I was hoping she had appreciated the display that had been put on to ease her mind. "Cool, huh?" I asked.

"Very," Bella agreed, but her eyes were on Edward and I knew that she was distracted. What I saw next disturbed me though. Bella was planning to interfere with the fight, she would sacrifice herself to save us. She would place herself in the line of danger to take the danger away from us. I sighed silently and leaned in to Bella. This vision had many endings, most would depend on the surrounding circumstances, but one thing I was sure of was that she would be nowhere near the fight, I would see to that.

"I've got my eye on you, Bella." I whispered in her ear, my voice was low and I knew that it would be inaudible to everyone but Bella.

Bella looked at me briefly, then her eyes flickered to Edward. I gave her a reproving look.

"I'll warn him if your plans get any more defined." I warned her, my voice still low. "It doesn't help anything for you to put yourself in danger. Do you think either of them would give up if you died? They'd still fight, we all would. You can't change anything, just be good, okay?"

Bella's brow furrowed briefly, but her eyes stayed on what was happening in the field.

"I'm watching,' I said again, I wanted her to know that she would never get away with it, I was annoyed she was ignoring me, but I was also happy, I didn't need Edward to hear this right now.

I turned to watch Jasper and Edward, they were charging at one another repetitively, neither had the upper hand. I had seen battles like this before between them, they would constantly go at it, but neither was able to come out with an advantage. Their longest battle had continued for two days, and there was still no outcome. Both would go with offensive and defensive, stepping aside and dodging one another, neither getting close enough to the other to pounce.

I looked over at Esme and shrugged my shoulders. She smiled and tapped Carlisle on the shoulder. Carlisle cleared his throat to get the boys attention.

Both Edward and Jasper stepped away and smiled at one another, they knew their outcome would never change, but they had fun trying.

"Back to work," Jasper consented. "We'll call it a draw."

We each took in turns, Bella cringed as Jasper attacked Esme. I knew the feeling, Esme's loving and motherly nature made it hard to see her as a vampire, but her strength and ability was amazing, she could certainly hold her own.

Rosalie, as always used tricks that shocked and surprised, she was a very talented fighter, she gained her strength from Emmett but her speed and agility were her own, she was skilled. Carlisle, had never done much fighting but he was quick and perceptive, he knew weak spots, he could take vampires down quickly and was effective in his attacks.

Then Emmett went again, he was determined that Jasper would not walk away victorious, I headed towards Rosalie and stopped next to her.

"After this little display, " she sang happily, "I am going to enjoy his punishment tomorrow."

I laughed and continued to watch the fight. Emmett was still hopping, jumping and pouncing with all of his speed and strength, but Jasper easily thwarted him again and again.

Finally, after Jasper took out Emmett for the last time, he turned to the wolves, his spine rigid. "We'll be doing this tomorrow. Please feel welcome to observe again."

"Yes," Edward spoke for them, "We'll be here."

"The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with each of our scents — so they don't make mistakes later. If we could hold still, it will make it easier for them."

"Certainly," Carlisle complied, "Whatever you need."

The wolves rose form their spot in the grass and headed towards us slowly.

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**A/N: Sorry this is posted so late . . . I had massive writers block, thankfully I played Psychotic girl and it got the story going again in my head.**

**Thank you to my wonderful reviewers, YOU GUYS ROCK! Thanks for the Alerts too. Big hugs till next time -L**


	15. Chapter 15 Two Out of Three

_**All Things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 15 - Two out of Three**

Each of us stood still and waited as the wolves made their way past us sniffing, I held my breath, I really didn't want to smell that. I could see that it wasn't their idea of a picnic either. Even in wolf form I could see the disgust and upturned noses.

The big black wolf was the first to reach us, his dark eyes looked weary. Each made their way down the line sniffing each of us, Jasper was tense, I could see it in the way he was standing, each of his muscles tensed as the dogs sniffed him. Emmett stood relaxed with a huge grin on his face, things like this never bothered him, he was easy to get along with if you gave him the chance. They proceeded forwards slowly, each dog reacting differently, one actually had it's shackles up, I was sure it was due to the fact that it was in such a close vicinity to us.

The wolf that was behind the black wolf was russet brown and it's fur was longer than the rest, I knew who it was instantly. It's eyes were the same as Jacob Black's, it fit in very well with the fact the Jacob was the only human with longer hair. I was amazed that I could also pick his friends out of the line up, each of the had a specific trait that reflected their human form.

The Jacob wolf's eyes moved to where Bella was stood, Edward's face was tense, I knew that he wasn't happy, I couldn't say I blamed him. A wolf the size of a horse, eyeing my human friend wasn't very comforting to me. The wolf's mouth opened to reveal a row of razor sharp teeth, the horrific sight was made comical in the fact that it's tongue hung stupidly out the side of it. I felt myself relax, I knew that he would never hurt Bella no matter what form he was in, but that first look had made me uneasy.

Bella giggled at the stupid look the wolf was wearing. My eyes were immediately directed to Edward again. His eyes were dark and his jaw was set. My heart went out to him, I knew that he'd hoped Bella would be fearful of this beast, but Jacob's playfulness had put her at ease.

Edward watched as Bella and Jacob interacted with one another. In their looks alone, it was obvious how Jacob felt about Bella, you would have to be an idiot not to see it. The pure adoration was almost sickly sweet. I would never doubt Bella's feelings towards my brother, I had see the aftermath of their separation and I was certain that if they were ever separated again it would be their demise. This didn't mean Jacob would play fair, and it certainly didn't mean he would give up trying to win her over.

Jacob stepped out of line and headed directly to Bella, stopping close to her, which left me down wind of his stench. His eyes flickered briefly to Edward and I wondered whether he was asking permission. His eyes were speaking what his mind was thinking. Bella still looked nervous at the creature being so close.

The dog crouched in front of Bella until his eyes were level with hers. "Jacob?" Bella asked breathlessly.

The dog reacted with a sound that could be loosely related to laughing, Bella reached out her hand and pet the dog, his eyes closed and a sound of contentment was released. Edward's body was completely rigid by this point and I couldn't imagine what the dog was thinking, whatever it was, Edward wasn't enjoying it. Bella ran her hands down his coat to his neck stepping closer. Her hand traveled further through his coat, Jacob, as he always seemed to do, took advantage of the situation and licked her face. I cringed at the thought of it, I knew the smell must be disgusting.

"Ew! Gross, Jake!" Bella jumped back and swatted at him playfully. I now understood what Edward had meant when he said her comfort and playfulness with Jacob had been disconcerting. I could imagine any partner in a relationship becoming jealous when seeing their significant other so comfortable with someone else. Especially someone who was very clearly in love with them.

Jacob danced around Bella avoiding her hands, his noises now resembling laughs. Bella laughed and wiped her face off with her sleeve. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Bella looked around at the group and realized that everything seemed to have to stopped and everyone was staring at them. She blushed at little at all the attention, but her gaze focused on Edward.

The wolves backed away from us as they left, their eyes never left our family, they didn't trust us at all, I could still smell Jacob stood close by. His eyes were on his retreating pack and I was sure that they were conversing amongst themselves. As the wolves hit the tree line, seven of them disappeared leaving two at the tree line, Jacob's friends from the party, and Jacob.

Edward sighed loudly, and moved towards Bella. He looked miserable, but tried hiding it for the sake of Bella. Jacob stayed close, and I couldn't stand the smell so I wandered off towards Jasper whose eyes were on the tree line, watching the hovering wolves suspiciously.

I turned when I heard Bella call out "Wait," Jacob was running towards the trees and his pack brothers. I reached Jasper and cuddled into his chest.

"You stink." he whispered into my hair chuckling.

I slapped his stomach gently, " I was stood downwind."

We joined our family who were in a loose circle talking.

"Did you see how many of them there were?" whispered Rosalie. "I had no idea packs could get that big."

"No one did, there are normally only three of four at the most, this is some kind of anomaly." Carlisle sighed, his eyes still at the trees. "We're fine as long as we're working together, but I'm afraid it we're going to go through with what Bella wants, we'll have to leave first. They won't be so easy."

Rosalie sighed loudly and crossed her arms, she was still against changing Bella, but now for the right reasons. She was being thoughtful.

"Heads up." Emmett sighed as his eyes darted around to the space behind me. "One of them is back in it's human form."

I rolled my eyes, I knew exactly who it was. Jacob didn't seem to know when to leave well enough alone.

"This has potential to be fun." Emmett said happily punching Jasper lightly in the shoulder.

"If you say so,' Jasper said unamused. He didn't like that the wolves were still close by, but he was slowly relaxing and his arm hung loosely around my shoulders.

"Alice, do you see which way they're going to come?" Esme asked.

I concentrated a little and closed my eyes, but I hadn't seen much of anything since the party. When I checked now, all I could see were trees. I shook my head in disappointment. "No, all I can see are trees, there are no markers or landmarks that really help with the direction, but I'm sure they'll pass something I'll recognize eventually and we'll be able to pinpoint the direction they're traveling in."

Carlisle nodded, "So you can't see where they'll enter Forks?"

I shook my head, "No, the wolves will be involved by then so it's difficult to see anything past their arrival. I'm just hoping I'll see something to give me an indication of the direction they're traveling from. I should be able to see them up to the point in which they cross into our paths."

Carlisle nodded and sighed. "I don't like being blind."

Jasper rubbed my arm supportively. He knew how the blindness affected me, he'd been with me when I had seen Bella jump, and each time I suffered some kind of blindness it brought the memory rushing back to me. It wasn't the most comfortable feeling in the world either, especially having been able to see the outcome for the last eighty odd years.

"Jasper?" I heard Edward's voice call and Jasper looked up, I felt him tense briefly, I was sure he was concerned about Jacob's actions. He dropped his arm from my shoulder and headed towards Bella, Jacob and Edward. I sighed and followed silently behind him, I needed to be close to him in the insecure mood that had washed over me. I was also concerned about Bella again, I was getting more flickers, she was changing her mind about the interfering.

We stopped close to them but not too close, Jasper was still weary. I eyed the situation ahead of us, I had missed what they were talking about because I had been to involved with looking for clue as to the direction of the offensive.

"Okay, Jacob." Edward nodded at the dog.

Jacob slowly took a step toward Bella and held out his arms. Bella looked surprised at the action and was scrutinizing Jacob's face. Edward just sucked in air as he stood watching the dog advance in on Bella.

"We're going to see if I can confuse the scent enough to hide your trail," Jacob explained, his eyes hopeful. It was obvious now that Bella was more comfortable with Jacob's wolf form than she was with his human one. Her eyes lingered on his arms as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You're going to have to let him carry you, Bella." Edward explained, he seemed to dislike the idea as much as Bella did.

Bella frowned at him and the turned again to face Jacob. Jacob rolled his eyes and stepped forward and reached down, swooping Bella into his arms. "Don't be such a baby,' was all I heard him mutter.

Both looked towards Edward, expectantly. Edward, however, kept his face and composure smooth and flat. He looked at Jasper.

"Bella's scent is so much more potent to me — I thought it would be a fairer test if someone else tried."

Jacob turned and disappeared into the trees. The three of us stood quietly as Jacob wandered around with Bella.

"You okay?" I whispered to Edward.

Edward nodded but didn't say a word.

"Are you listening to his thoughts?" I asked.

Edward nodded again.

I looked to Jasper and raised my eyebrows. I hated to think what emotions he was feeling from Edward, I was even more curious as to what he was feeling from Jacob and Bella. Bella had looked annoyed and reluctant to go anywhere with Jacob. He'd invaded her personal space, I knew that being so close to him would bring back that memory for her, and I knew how uncomfortable she would probably be.

"Okay, we're going to try and follow the trial." Jasper said and picked up my hand.

"Alice," Jasper whispered quietly as we entered into the forest where we'd seen Jacob and Bella enter, "If Bella leaves a false trail to where we want the newborns to go, will it work to our advantage?"

"Jazz, I can't see them past their arrival here, the wolves are involved and we don't have a game plan, until that's decided, I can't see a thing."

"Okay, I want to see if this works first, then I'll be able to decide how to proceed." he said, a slight smile now playing on his lips.

The two of us dashed into the forest, all we could smell was the dog, it drowned out most of the wildlife in the surround area, so smelling Bella wasn't even an option. I fanned my hand in front of my face, I knew my nose was wrinkled at the smell, it probably looked very much like Jasper's.

"Let's get out of here!" Jasper whispered, and I nodded.

The two of us headed back to Edward, as soon as we were out of the wolf's trail I gulped in the fresh air. We were back at Edward's side before Bella and the dog got there.

Jacob set Bella on her feet and she immediately headed toward Edward, picking up his hand as she arrived. She didn't look happy at all.

"Well?" she asked looking expectantly at us.

"As long as you don't touch anything, Bella, I can't _imagine_ someone sticking their nose close enough to that trail to catch your scent." I felt a small disgusted shudder run through Jasper. "It was almost completely obscured."

"A definite success," I agreed.

"And it gave me an idea."

As he made the decision, I saw it. Now that he had decided a plan of attack I could see a little more clearly how things would pan out. The wolves would have their own area, they wouldn't be fighting among us. It would give me some idea on the how our side would react. And the trail that Bella would leave before our scent was present would make the newborns move exactly the way we wanted them to. They would try to surround us and half would disappear into the forest, and when I say disappear, they literally disappeared because the wolves were hiding within the cover of the forest. The rest will come straight to us from the other side. It'll almost be too easy.

"Which will work." I said confident in my vision.

"Clever," Edward agreed.

"How do you _stand_ that?" Jacob asked Bella, watching us with wide eyes.

"We're — well, _you're _— going to leave a false trail to the clearing, Bella." Edward explained to her, ignoring the wolf completely. "The newborns are hunting, your scent will excite them, and they'll come exactly the way we want them to without being careful about it. Alice can already see that this will work. When they catch _our_ scent, they'll split up and try to come at us from two sides. Half will disappear through the forest, where her vision suddenly disappears. . . ."

"Yes!" Jacob hissed as he and his brother part became defined. I was sure he'd had some of the same concerns as we'd had. We would be fighting side by side without it being literal, this made things easier on both side and left less room for 'accidents.'

Edward smiled at him for the first time. It was a smile of understanding. They would all be able to fight in their own way without watching their backs. They would both be able to protect Bella. They were, for the first, and probably the last time on the same page and in utter understanding.

Bella looked concerned, and very tired. I watched her closely as she began flickering through her options again.

"Not a chance." Edward almost growled. I looked up at him and he was practically glaring at Jasper.

"I know, I know," Jasper said hurriedly. "I didn't even consider it, not really."

I stomped on his foot, this is where I understood how difficult things could be for people like Bella, or even Jacob. I hated when they had discussions like that.

"If Bella was actually there in the clearing," Jasper stage whispered, something I couldn't understand, he could have very easily said it quiet enough to where I would have been the only recipient. "It would drive them insane. They wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything but her. It would make picking them off truly easy. . . ."

Edward's eyes flared angrily at Jasper.

"Of course it's too dangerous for her. It was just an errant thought," Jasper concluded quickly, sparing a quick glance at Bella. Now I understood why he'd practically stage whispered, he'd wanted to see Bella's reaction.

"No." Edward's words were definitive.

"You're right," Jasper answered and grabbed my hand. He spun me in the direction of the rest of the family. "Best two out of three?" he asked me.

I grinned and we ran towards the middle of the field. Jasper waved his hand over his eyes, which was a signal for me to close my eyes. I nodded happily obliging.

"You are a glutton for punishment Jasper Hale." I laughed as I hopped forwards. "Just make the most of it, you will be my slave in a couple of hours."

I heard him charge me with all of his speed but I danced around him and jumped on his back. I kissed him on the neck again and hummed. "Like taking candy from a baby." I threw my head back and laughed.

I felt his arm wrap around my waist as he pulled me to his front. He kissed my neck sensually and brought his mouth to my ear. He whispered to me seductively.

"You're not really going to hold me to that are you?" I could hear the feigning hurt in his voice.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my hands into his blonde mane. I kissed below his ear gently and then ran my nose along the outside of his ear, stopping when my mouth was closer to it.

"You bet your ass I am!" I laughed and wriggled out of his arms, darting around the field, with him close on my heels.

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**A/N: Short, I know, I'm sorry. I have to do a buttload of overtime tomorrow, so after that I should be back to normal. Not sure whether I'll be able to get a chapter up, but if I do it will more likely be after midnight. If I work on Saturday, it won't matter . . . You'll get a chapter lol!  
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**I found this chapter difficult to write, I have no clue why? Thank you for the alerts and thanks for the Reviews . . . YOU GUYS ROCK AND ARE AWESOMELY AWESOME! M'Kay Big hugs . . . till tomorrow (I Hope)  
**


	16. Chapter 16 White Lies

_**All things Twilight belong to the brilliant mind of Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 16 - White Lies**

The wolves had disappeared into the forest the same time as Edward had left with Bella. Bella had been dead on her feet after the long day and I had seen the fatigue it was all to evident under her heavily shadowed eyes.

The rest of our family had continued to practice. Jasper and Emmett had insisted that Rosalie and I have a head to head. It was their last request before all rights were removed from them.

As fast and skilled as Rosalie was, she was no match for me, my sight kept me one step ahead of everything, it would take a skilled fighter who worked on instinct alone to bring me down in a one on one combat like this.

Rose was clever though, she never backed away too far and would stay close enough to leap quickly and land, then leap again without leaving time for me to really catch her decision until the instant she was on top of me, I had to be so much quicker with her.

The guys seemed to get something out of our little fights, Emmett would never take me on, he hated to lose so he would try and stay away from match ups with me, I frustrated him.

We each continued to simulate battles to strengthen our most dominant traits, Jasper pushed us all gently, he was good at getting the best from us.

We finally stopped when the light hit the horizon, we were beginning to get playful in our actions, and Emmett had taken to cheating. He'd have Rosalie distract the person he was fighting, she complied because he was pouting. It was the one thing she couldn't resist from Emmett but she hid it well, he would just think he got lucky.

We all slowly headed back to the house, we were caked in mud now from the playful fights, no one seemed to mind, not even Rosalie. I walked slowly beside Jasper, my hand linked with his, the rest of the family was ahead of us, Rose was on Emmett's back and they were dancing around Carlisle and Esme, attempting to instigated a piggyback race.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would." Jasper sighed as he pulled some grass from my hair.

"I was surprised how quiet they were, they were also patient with us."

"Yes, Edward was highly unhappy when the big reddish brown one approached Bella." he laughed once, I knew he sympathized with his brother.

"I can't blame him," I sighed. "Bella and the dog seem to have a close friendship."

I used the words loosely, friendship almost seemed too innocent for the way they had been with one another. It reminded me that I had wanted to speak with Jasper about that.

"Jazz, can I ask you something?"

Jasper nodded without saying a word, his thumb gently caressed the side of my hand.

"Can you tell me what they were feeling?"

Jasper looked at me and stopped, he looked back at the rest of the family and then back at me.

"The dog, was easy. . ." He hesitated before continuing. "At first he was uneasy, he wasn't sure how we would react to his approaching Bella the way he did, but the moment he was by her side, his emotions were pure contentment, he loves her more than I could have ever imagined, it's a little eerie to feel that. I wouldn't say it's as strong as Edward feels about her, not by a long shot, but he loves her. When she was rubbing on his fur . . ." Jasper shuddered

"What?" I said giggling at his reaction.

"Well, lets just say if you'd been beside me . . ." he leant over and kissed my neck gently the breath tickling me.

My eyes widened at the explanation. As naive as it sounds I had never considered he'd have feelings like that for Bella, I think I believed that because I knew how Edward felt about her, and I couldn't think about anyone else regarding her in those situations. I could understand why Jasper shuddered now.

"And Bella?" I asked, running my hand gently through Jasper's hair as his mouth was still preoccupied with my neck.

"That was strange, she felt comfortable with him as a dog." he said as he pulled away from me and continued to walk. "There was no emotion towards him other than plutonic affection, but when he came back as a human, it was discomfort and uneasiness. She wasn't comfortable around him, at all. When he picked her up, it changed to trepidation. I think he made his intentions perfectly clear, she doesn't reciprocate them so it makes her all the more uncomfortable." Jasper chuckled once. "She was right to feel uncomfortable, the emotions he was emitting while she was in his arms was . . . shameful."

I laughed, it was typical of Bella to feel more comfortable among beasts than humans. Jacob had put her through a lot, betrayal, hurt and more recently violation. Even though she considered him as only a friend, he never hid his true feelings. The more these feelings were played out for her, the more uncomfortable she became. Humans, were so much more complicated than we gave them credit for, even more so in Bella's case.

Jasper and I continued on towards the house in silence, I always knew that Jacob had feelings that weren't reciprocated, but I wasn't aware how deep they ran. It was something that seemed a little dangerous, only because he was so persistent about winning her affections. He was wearing Edward's patience thin.

My thoughts were interrupted by Emmett barreling towards us with Rosalie still on his back, they were both wearing huge smiles. They ran circles around us before stopping. Rosalie slid from Emmett's back.

"Hey guys." Rosalie laughed.

"Hey," I laughed watching the oddly buoyant behavior from my sister.

Emmett stood with a grin still plastered to his face. Rosalie shook her hand and slapped him on the arm.

"Why's he so happy?" asked Jasper in confusion.

"Redemption," sighed Rosalie. "I have agreed, as long as the two of you are in on it, that we will race one more time, back to the house. But rather than gals against guys, we're going to do it singularly."

'The terms?" Jasper laughed.

I rolled my eyes, I seemed to have found the one quality that wasn't so attractive about my husband. Gambling, and it was for the stupidest things.

"Okay, it will be one against one, Rosalie against myself, and Alice against you. If I win against Rosalie I am let off the hook, but if she wins the ante goes up to forty-eight hours. The same would apply to you two." Emmett smirked. I was sure he was confident this time.

"That's it?" Jasper laughed.

"That's not enough?" Emmett asked raising his eyebrows.

"It's plenty, but I can't see you accepting freedom as a bet."

"Ah, well, Rosalie has already disclosed some of the things she's planning for me." he smiled sheepishly.

"Fine," I sighed laughing at the pleading on Emmett's face.

Rosalie, without us noticing had edged away from us closer to the house. "GO!" she yelled and began running.

Emmett's face fell and he took off at full speed. Jasper and I looked at one another and laughed. Jasper held out his hand to give me a head start and I took off without a thought.

Jasper was fast and was on my heels for the entire race, I was slowing because of my incessant giggling, Jasper would race up behind me and pinch my butt as he ran behind me, but I wanted to win this bet, I was looking forward to having him as my slave, and now for forty-eight hours. It was almost too easy. I pushed myself harder and heard the cheers of Rosalie as I got closer to the house.

I felt a breeze to my right and saw Jasper speed past me and towards Rosalie and Emmett, I tried with everything I could to keep my lead, I pushed and pushed but it was no use, he stopped and caught me at the house. He laughed and kissed my cheek.

I stuck out my bottom lip in a pout as I lay comfortably in his arms, "You were staying behind me on purpose, weren't you?"

Jasper's mouth moved to my ear, I could feel his lips and breath as they tickled the skin. "I should have added a little something to that bet." he whispered, his voice lower than usual. I slapped his arm gently and hopped out of his arms.

Rosalie was rubbing Emmett's shoulder gently on the porch steps. He was sat slumped over, very obviously pouting, whereas Rosalie was holding back fits of giggles.

"C'mon Emmett it's only forty-eight hours." I said heading towards them.

Rosalie whispered something quietly into his ear and he groaned standing up, Rosalie smirked and looked up at him expectantly. Emmett bent down and picked her up, his face looked horrified.

I pressed my lips together to stop from laughing as I watched Emmett carry Rosalie into the house. I almost shuddered at the thought of what she would be having him do, she could be relentless and when he was as over confident as he had been about winning a second time, I was sure she would exercise ever one of her rights to abuse him. I could see that she wanted to teach him a lesson.

"I'm glad you played a little more fair this time." Jasper chuckled. I turned around and lifted my eyebrows.

"Funny you should say that when you have no idea what you would've been doing." I said making my voice as seductive as I could.

Jasper raised his eyebrows and then smirked, before I could blink I was in his arms and he was heading towards the house.

o0o

Later in the morning, Jasper and I decided to check on Rosalie and Emmett, we were curious as to the things Rosalie had him doing. When we found them we immediately regretted our curiosity. The two of them were in the garage, Rosalie was perched on the hood of the Jeep, watching Emmett wax her BMW, he was wearing one of her old dresses, the dress hugged to every part of his body and I let out a large laugh as he bent to clean her tires. I leaned against Jasper who had appeared to stop breathing to contain his laughter.

Rosalie smirked as Emmett hung his head in shame. It was the cruelest and most unusual punishment I'd ever seen, and I was sure it was only going to get worse. I picked up Jasper's hand and headed towards the door, I'd seen enough to last me a lifetime, an image burned into my brain that I would rather forget. As soon as the door closed behind me I regained my composure, but barely.

"Was that what you had in mind for me?" Jasper asked laughing freely now.

I shook my head, words wouldn't come to me now. The image kept appearing in my mind and it would cause another bout of laughter. In my sixty something years of being part of this family, I had never seen anything remotely resembling that. This was a side of Rosalie I had never seen before, and it scared me, just a little.

Jasper and I walked into Carlisle who was running to the hospital quickly, they'd given him the day off but he was on call.

"I wouldn't go in there," Jasper laughed loudly.

Carlisle frowned looking weary. "What's going on?"

"Rosalie and Emmett," I answered trying to suffocate the giggle the reoccurring image were bringing to me.

Carlisle shook his head and passed us, we followed silently and stopped at the door as he headed inside. We heard his laughter as it spread around the garage.

"Rosalie, you scare me sometimes." he laughed. I saw him get into the Mercedes still laughing at Emmett who looked humiliated.

"Why?" Jasper squeaked out.

Rosalie laughed silkily. "Because I can, Jasper."

"Please tell me you're reducing the sentence for this." I laughed, I covered my mouth with my hand as Emmett looked at me, his eyes full of disappointment. He hadn't thought to bargain with her.

"Oh, Emmett!" I laughed and almost fell out of the door. I loved the big guy, but he was so naive sometimes.

Jasper and I were almost folded over double in fits of laughter, I hated to be so cruel but I couldn't help myself. I leaned into Jasper again and he wrapped his arms around me as we tried to straighten out. Emmett aimed a cloth he'd been using to shine Rosalie's tires at us and we disappeared from the room.

We caught our breath as we headed back into the house. Esme was sitting in the living room flipping through a home and garden magazine. I dropped into the seat next to her and took a deep breath. Jasper took the floor by my feet.

"What's so funny?" Esme asked smiling, "I could hear you laughing from in here."

"Rosalie is executing her powers as winner." I laughed.

"Oh, no." Esme sighed. "Do I need to go out there and stop her?"

Jasper shook his head and let out a chuckle, "I wouldn't, but they're your eyes."

Esme looked at me shocked, I wasn't sure how she'd taken that so I continued. "Rosalie has dressed Emmett, in . . . well, in a dress, and he's cleaning her car, we caught him while he was working on the tires."

Esme laughed and shook her head, her eyes fell back to her magazine and I pulled the television remote off the table, turning it on and flicking through the channels. My other hand ran through Jasper's hair lightly as he laid his head in my lap.

I dropped the remote accidentally when I saw Bella walking through the forest I could hear the fighting but she wandered further into the trees never coming across the fight. Soon there were voices calling her name frantically, she'd missed the entire thing but she was lost. Wandering aimlessly.

I reached into my pocket, to where I had taken to carrying my cell phone with me. After everything that had happened I couldn't risk being anywhere without it, just in case I saw something. I had seen a flicker of the newborns earlier in the morning, the numbers were now down to nineteen but that wasn't too important, it was just better for us.

I dialed Edward's number and waited for him to answer.

"What is it, Alice?" he asked.

"Well, your stubborn girlfriend will need supervision, she'll be wandering around the forest and end up completely lost, I know she's been trying to find a way to get to the fight so she can help. I've seen a few of her decisions revolve around that thought, but the outcome is her getting lost. She'll be so lost we can't find her."

"I sort of guessed as much," Edward sighed into the phone, "She was talking in her sleep."

"Can you please try and talk her out of this, it's completely ludicrous. The numbers are already down to nineteen, how does she think she can help she's human for crying out loud."

"I'll take care of it." he said again and hung up the phone.

I snapped my phone shut and looked at Jasper.

"What's Bella done now?" Jasper asked raising his head to look at me.

"She actually agree's with you, she thinks she should be at the fight." I sighed.

Jasper raised his eyebrows, "She's willing to put herself in danger?"

I tipped my head to the side in exasperation.

Jasper rolled his eyes and nodded, "I guess we are talking about Bella here."

"Do you expect anything less?" Esme asked warmly. "She constantly worries more about others than herself. This will be difficult for her, she doesn't want to be in the way, but she doesn't want to sit around doing nothing. She feels like a burden to us, and all we continue to do is reassure her that her feelings are unfounded. Quite frankly, I would be as inclined to disobey us all too. I'm sure she feels a little patronized at times."

I'd never really thought about that, it was a typical thing of Esme to do, put herself in others shoes so she could see both sides of the argument. She had a deeper understanding of human nature than most of us.

"You have a point, but still, she's so fragile. I suppose we'll have to find a less patronizing way to reassure her." I said again sighing.

I starting thinking of ways to describe this to Bella, how I could help her understand how important it was to keep her safe. How dangerous it would be for her and us if she was in such close proximity to the fighting. But I soon saw it wasn't necessary. . . Bella, had decided to ask Edward to stay with her, and he would. I knew he would do anything for her, anything to keep her safe. We hardly needed him but that wasn't the point.

Edward missing a epic fight such as this would cause major pouting that could potentially last for months, he didn't necessarily enjoy the fight but he knew we worked well as a unit. He'd wanted to take down James, but we'd done it for him because of the state Bella was in. He wanted vindication for every threat on Bella's life, and I was sure this is how he thought of this. I knew he could never explain that to her.

Then there was the guilt, I knew that he would feel guilty for abandoning us and it would eat at him the entire time the fight was happening. This would be a fun couple of months, I could see the tantrums now.

My phone rang, and I knew it was Edward, I flipped it open and placed it to my ear.

"Edward?"

"Alice," his voice sounded strained. "Could you come and babysit Bella for a bit? I need to speak to Jasper."

"Sure, I'm on my way."

I snapped the phone shut and sighed. I gently moved Jasper's head that had found it's way back into my lap and stood up.

"Emmett. Rosalie." I called and waited. Jasper looked up at me his brows furrowing and he pulled himself on the couch next to Esme.

Emmett and Rosalie found their way into the livingroom. Emmett was now dressed normally and he and Rosalie were giggling but abruptly stopped when they saw the pout I was wearing.

'What's going on, Alice?" Esme asked, putting down her magazine.

"Edward, is not going to be fighting with us. Bella has decided this is going to go one of two ways and given Edward the choice. He won't be fighting with us, he'll be with Bella."

"Awesome." Emmett laughed, "More for me."

I lifted my eyebrows.

"She gave him an ultimatum?" Rosalie asked, she actually looked impressed.

"I guess you could say that . . . she didn't want to be apart from him. So she said he's with her or she's with him."

"Great," Sighed Jasper and I looked to him quizzically.

"Will it change anything?" Esme asked.

"No," Sighed Jasper, "he'll just be moody for a while."

Rosalie and Emmett laughed and I moved closer to the door, "I have to go babysit, Edward wants to talk to you Jasper. Oh," I caught a quick flicker of Carlisle driving home, it had been a false alarm and he was freed to return home. "Carlisle's on his way home. You may want to wait for him."

Jasper nodded at me and I headed through the door. I ran through the forest silently. Running to Bella's had become as easy as running to school when needed, it never took long and I barely had to look at the direction I was traveling in, I could find it as easily as I found our home.

I could feel another vision coming to me, it was strong enough that I was sure it was being directed at me purposely. Edward had made a new decision, I slowed to a walk as I became close to the house. He wanted me to lie to Charlie and tell him the family was going camping so he could kidnap Bella. We would be hunting so it would only be the two of them. I tried to fight the temptation of looking further into his decision but it was hitting me like a steamroller. I was glad to find his thoughts were pure. I stopped myself before I went any further. I arrived at Bella's and walked through the front door without knocking, there were expecting me anyway.

"You're going to miss all the fun." I pouted, as I entered the kitchen, I knew my bottom lip was protruding.

"Hello, Alice." Edward sighed and kissed Bella goodbye.

"I'll be back later tonight," He said as he looked into her eyes lovingly. "I'll go work this out with the others, rearrange things."

"Okay," Bella whispered quietly, I could hear the guilt coating her voice.

"There's not much to arrange," I sighed moving further into the room. "I already told them. Emmett is pleased."

"Of course he is." Edward sighed.

'_I'll clear it with Charlie, I saw what you wanted to do.'_ I added in my head. He walked out past me, but not without mouthing 'thank you', and disappeared through the door. I just looked at Bella, a little too harshly from her reaction.

"I'm sorry," she said sadly, "Do you think this will make it more dangerous for you?"

I snorted, she always tended to overreact, and this was another perfect example of that. "You worry too much, Bella. You're going to go prematurely gray."

"Why are you upset then?" She asked confusion masking her face.

"Edward is such a grouch when he doesn't get his way. I'm just anticipating living with hin for the next few months." I scrunched up my face to emphasize my point. "I suppose, if it keeps you sane, it's worth it. But I wish you could control the pessimism, Bella. It's so unnecessary."

"Would you let Jasper go without you?" Bella demanded, anger kindling in her eyes.

I thought about that for a moment, and she was right, I wouldn't but the situation was different, I could take care of myself, I was strong. "That's different."

"Sure it is." She said seeing right through my doubts.

"Go clean yourself up." I said looking at her, she was still in her pyjama's, and her hair was a mess. Charlie was about to leave the station for the day. He'd been worried that she'd been sleeping all day and had considered checking on her as the day progressed but let had let it go before following through with it. "Charlie will be home in fifteen minutes, and if you look this ragged he's not going to let you out again."

Bella disappeared upstairs with a nod to shower and change, when she came back downstairs she began cooking Charlie his dinner. I heard his cruiser before he pulled up, Bella had perfect timing. She was placing his dinner on the table as he came in through the door.

Charlie's face beamed at me as he sat down, I returned his smile happily. I really enjoyed his company, he was a decent man and a good father.

"Howdy, Alice! How are you, hon?"

"I'm fine, Charlie, thanks." I said grinning.

"I see you finally made it out of bed, sleepyhead" he said to Bella as she took her seat next to him, but she simply smiled sheepishly. He turned his attention back to me. "Everyone's talking about that party your parents threw last night. I'll bet you've got one heck of a clean-up job ahead of you."

I shrugged my shoulders, "it was worth it, it was a great party."

'Where's Edward?" he asked, obviously still upset at him, I knew how he felt about my brother and I knew why, but I was beginning to wonder if he would ever let it go. "Is he helping clean up?"

This was my chance and I took it, Edward wanted Bella at the house for this fight, this was my chance to make it happen, I sighed loudly and contorted my face into a melodramatic pique. "No. He's off planning the weekend with Emmett and Carlisle."

"Hiking again?"

I nodded, making my face more dramatic. "Yes. They're _all_ going, except me. We always go backpacking at the end of the school year, sort of a celebration, but this year I decided I'd rather shop than hike, and not one of them will stay behind with me. I'm abandoned."

I let my bottom lip quiver for effect, it was something I picked up from some television shows I enjoyed. Charlie reached out to me trying to help in any way he could. Bella stared at me, almost frowning, I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her inability to catch on.

"Alice, honey, why don't you come stay with us," Charlie offered. "I'd hate to think of you alone in that big house."

I sighed dramatically as I reached out my foot to stomp Bella's, I was hoping that she would catch on.

"Ow!" Bella yelped.

Charlie looked over at her "What?"

While Charlie's attention was pulled away from me, I gave Bella a look to help her catch on, I widened my eyes before relaxing back into the sulk I was feigning.

"Stubbed my toe." Bella mumbled quietly.

"Oh," he turned his attention back to me, "So, how 'bout it?"

I tapped on Bella's foot this time rather than stomp, I had forgotten my strength for a second.

"Er, Dad, you know, we don't really have the best accommodations here. I bet Alice doesn't want to sleep on the floor. . . ."

Charlie pursed his lips so I exaggerated my devastation again.

"Maybe Bella should stay up there with you," he offered sweetly, I tried not to laugh that he hadn't even considered checking with her, "just until your folks get back."

"Oh, would you, Bella?" I smiled at her happily, hoping she knew what I was getting at. "You don't mind shopping with me, right?"

"Sure," Bella returned the smile, "Shopping. Okay."

"When are they leaving?" asked Charlie, smiling at his solution.

"Tomorrow." I sighed dramatically.

"When do you want me?" Bella asked.

"After dinner, I guess," I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "You don't have anything going on Saturday, do you? I want to get out of town to shop, and it will be an all-day thing."

"Not Seattle," Charlie jumped in, concern furrowing his brow.

"Of course not," I agreed with him, Seattle would be safe on Saturday, but I knew Charlie needed piece of mind. Seattle had been in the news so much recently, it was hard not to be cautious. "I was thinking Olympia, maybe. . . ."

"You'll like that, Bella." Charlie's tone immediately relaxed. "Go get your fill of the city."

"Yeah, Dad. It'll be great."

Charlie was immediately at ease and I saw his decision to take up his friend on his fishing and watching the game offer for Saturday. I was sure the friend was Billy Black. I knew that Jacob was planning on taking care of that. He would have a couple of his pack brothers watching over Billy, Charlie and the reservation. It was one last thing to worry about. I was certain there would be no strays but I didn't want to take any chances.

Edward returned after a while and I explained silently that the whole family but me was going camping and they'd be leaving tomorrow morning, this was all before he entered the door, so when Charlie offered his well wishes for backpacking, Edward thanked him graciously without fault. Bella looked relieved.

Edward and I left earlier than we normally would have. We had a training session tonight and Bella would insist on being there so we had to give her time to get to bed so he could sneak her out. I hopped in the Volvo and headed home, Edward had thanked me again as we headed out to the car, he handed me the keys and ruffled my hair. I had an hour to get home and change before heading up to the clearing. I had an idea that the fighting bouts would be a little more diverse this evening. I'd had fun last night so I was sure that even with Jasper pushing a little bit harder, it would be just as fun and educational as the first.

As soon as I got home I dashed upstairs and changed into something that I didn't mind being stained if it came down to it. The family were waiting for me patiently downstairs and we headed out as soon as I reached them. There was no playfulness on the way to the clearing tonight, Emmett was still pouting. Rosalie had ordered he carry her to the clearing. He wasn't amused, but the rest of us held in the giggles as we headed in that direction.

We arrived at the clearing and Emmett immediately challenged Jasper, Rosalie and I rolled our eyes and sunk to the ground. It was hard and damp but we weren't bothered, if last night was any indication we would be caked in mud by the time we left. Esme was stood with Carlisle, their fingers were linked and they were lost in one another. rosalie and i were chatting quietly amongst ourselves, even with Esme and Carlisle in earshot. We were hunting tomorrow to build up our strength and Edward and Bella would be alone for the first time, Rosalie was all about the scandalous undertones.

"C'mon, Alice. You can't tell me you're not curious."

I giggled and looked at Rosalie raising my eyebrows. I tapped my temple quickly before rearranging myself again.

"Alice Cullen, did you check?" I heard Esme behind me. She sounded shocked. Carlisle mocked shock.

"No, not really, it came to me more than anything." I sighed, and turned to smile at her sheepishly.

"No more, I'm serious. Unless he asks you, which I highly doubt." Esme scolded.

I nodded and turned back to the fight, the wolves were on the other side of the clearing watching closely. There were only three of them tonight. The one that was Jacob seemed relaxed and the other two, although lounging casually, still had their guard up a little. They were the three that had been at the party. The seemed to enjoy one another's company. They were friends and brothers.

I heard Bella's clumsy footsteps before I saw the two of them coming across the clearing, the moon was clear in the dark sky so it was as good as daylight to us. They were talking quietly amongst themselves as the strolled towards us. Rosalie snickered beside me. Esme swatted her affectionately.

"Don't let Edward hear your thoughts, Rosalie. It'll just upset him." Esme whispered as low as she possibly could. Carlisle was trying not to laugh but his eyes twinkled at Rosalie's teasing. Rosalie rolled her eyes but nodded her head in compliance.

Bella stopped a little way away from us, I knew that she was feeling guilty because it was the Bella thing to do, so I let it go. I didn't want to make her anymore uncomfortable. Edward stood next to her watching his brothers wrestling playfully, I could already see the disappointment in his eyes. I knew him too well for him to hide it. Edward was an instinctual and habitual creature, fighting with his family would only be natural for him, but he seemed resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be fighting. Carlisle had instructed Emmett to keep his mouth shut, neither Bella nor Edward needed anymore guilt about the situation.

Jacob had noticed the arrival as much as we had and he made the same stupid face as he had the night before as he hopped up and headed towards Bella and Edward, he seemed more comfortable than he had the night before, probably due to the fact that we all had the same objective, and that he knew Bella was comfortable with him as a wolf.

I averted my eyes and went back to the wrestling in front of me. I knew Jasper wanted to try an uneven matching and his closest opponent in movements was Edward and I, he was also counting on Edward countering my movements. It would be as good as a victory for him. I had to watch for his tricky little movements that had seemed to reappeared since his military days, they weren't lost on me. When it came to Jasper, I noticed everything.

Jasper took Emmett down easily and laughed as Emmett complained and demanded a rematch. He nodded at me and looked directly at Edward. I rose from the floor in one movement and ran to Jasper's side. As I passed Emmett I patted him on the back in reassurance, he didn't seem to be having the greatest of days.

"So you think this will give you a win, if you succeed?" I asked, dancing around Jasper happily when I approached him.

"Yeah," he said, unabashed.

"We'll see!" I challenged and stood still on the spot waiting for Edward, who looked thoroughly annoyed.

"I hate leaving her alone with him." he sighed running his hands through his hair as he covered the last of the small distance.

"If it makes you feel any better, she gets along with him a lot better as a wolf, when he's human, he annoys her and makes her feel uncomfortable." Jasper offered smiling.

Edward laughed and crouched ready to spring. I watched Jasper back away from me and assume the same position. I closed my eyes and waited. I felt the two of them move at the same time, one circle while the other headed directly for me. As soon as Jasper dived at me and I hopped to the side I felt Edward fly over me as I ducked. I grinned to myself. They were thinking too much.

I heard Jasper's growl and I knew he was trying to get Edward's attention, I waiting and heard Edward moving towards me slowly as Jasper charged, Edward was still a slight distance away so I waited for Jasper, this time cutting the game short and jumping on his back. My lips kissed his neck and I hopped down grinning, I kept my eyes closed and waited for Edward's offensive, he was still crawling but he was circling me, I crouched low to the ground so I could pick up his scent. I could almost feel him as he approached me, his hand stretched out slowly to me, but I used his lethargic movements against him. I knew he was watching my mind closely so I waited patiently, trying not to think of his position. I started translating another sonnet into Greek when I pounced quickly. He was low to the ground so I found myself with my knees in his back and my teeth inches from his shoulder.

I opened my eyes and hopped up grinning at Jasper, I knew he hadn't been expecting that. I held out a hand to Edward, who's eyebrows were raised.

"You scare me!" he said simply, but smiling at the victory.

"She scares _me_, and I'm married to her." laughed Jasper shaking his head.

And so the evening continued. Emmett and Edward tried to surprise Rosalie, she took Emmett out before Edward took her down but she put up a good fight and they danced around for a long while before he was able to catch her.

Esme and Carlisle tried with Emmett, Emmett's slow movements didn't do him many favors but his pure strength stopped Esme from taking him out. Carlisle was just too fast, and had him down in second after Esme was defeated.

There was actually a three on one match up, it was Edward, Emmett and Rosalie, trying to catch me. Jasper wanted to watch so he could follow my movements, it still surprised him how quickly I could see the move before it was made, I had defeated Rosalie and Emmet when Edward caught me off guard. I was on Rosalie's back, my teeth inches from her throat and before I could blink his neck was inches from mine.

Jasper was impressed, it had brought him to explaining that newborns had no qualms about taking each other out to get to you. So we practiced that in groupings. It was a very educational experience and I knew that I was more than prepared for what was coming, just as the wolves were. I could see the eagerness in their eyes.

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**A/N: Okay, so I wasn't able to post last night. I didn't get home till gone two and I was seeing double lol. This chapter would have also been posted sooner if the electrical transformer on the street that was provider power to the house hadn't been blown out by the massive thunderstorm that passed through, leaving me computerless for hours. (When it rains it pours - pardon the pun) I live in Texas too, so you can imagine how comfortable that was!!**

**Anywho, thanks to all of you who added faves and alerts, and to the awesome reviewers, yes you are awesome, YOU ALSO ROCK, SERIOUSLY AWESOMELY ROCK!**

**M'Kay big hugs till tomorrow - Hope you like the chapter ;0P**


	17. Chapter 17 Hunting Engagements

_**All things Twilight belong to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 17 - Hunting Engagements**

We prepared for our hunt, we needed big game considering the strength that it afforded us so we were heading out to a national park for the night. It wouldn't take us long but we needed to get as much sustenance as possible in order to max out our strength. Rosalie and Emmett were relentless when it came to leaving they insisted on thinking dirty thoughts to one another, I knew what they were doing because Jasper was practically hissing at them. They were successfully working themselves up in the process of teasing Edward and Jasper was suffering for it.

Edward successfully ignored them and blocked their thoughts, his grin was infectious as we prepared to leave. I knew the look in his eye, it wasn't that of Rosalie and Emmett's passion, it was very similar to Esme and Carlisle after one of his longer shifts at the hospital. He just wanted to be with her, it was love, not desire, not lust, but love. The simple act of holding her close, talking to her and memorizing her. It was something Jasper and I often did, our relationship wasn't always about passion, we often just longed to be alone in one another's company.

As we made preparations to leave I made sure that I gave Edward the new information. I'd had a vision earlier in the morning, the newborns path had become completely clear, they were closer now so it was easier to see their exact path, I'd been hoping I would see it before we set the trap so we would know where to leave Bella's scent. It was a lucky shot. I'd been checking periodically for the last couple of days, and I'd been blessed today. I let Edward know before we left by replaying the vision in my mind for him. He knew the path they would take now and he'd be able to plan for tomorrow. I knew it wouldn't be on the forefront of his mind tonight, but he had a couple of hours before Bella could escape from Charlie, so it would keep him occupied.

We all squeezed into the Jeep again, it would have been uncomfortable, but Rosalie insisted on sitting in Emmett's lap, it gave the rest of us plenty of room, but the whispering and giggling gave away what they were doing, trying to mess with Edward and make him overly excited about Bella's presence had made them aroused. Jasper's eyes glazed over, they were making him uncomfortable, but were also transferring their emotions effectively to him. I was getting a little agitated at them.

"Guys!" I said sternly looking directly at the two of them, "We're supposed to be preserving our strength not expelling it. Could you please simmer down."

Emmett and Rosalie just laughed and continued with what they were doing, this time with more vigor. Esme turned in her seat to look at me. She smiled weakly.

"Don't worry, we'll keep them apart on the way home," she laughed winking at me.

I raised my eyebrows and looked to Jasper who had his eyes closed tightly and a pained expression shrouding his face. I looked back at Esme raising my eyebrows. Esme's smile turned sympathetic as she nodded to me and turned around in her seat to face the front. The ride was becoming excruciating long.

I leaned into Jasper and rubbed my hand along his chest as I moved my mouth to his ear. I knew this would do nothing to distract him, but I was hoping my emotions would be stronger than that of Emmett and Rosalie's.

"Jasper," I breathed his name into his ear so it would be silent to the rest of the car.

His eyes flickered open and he looked at me grinning, his eyes were filled with desire, the molten gold almost swirled with his emotions. The sight almost took my breath away. Jasper's emotions when his eyes were flared like this meant nobody was safe. I had to try and calm him down before this blew out of proportion.

I tried with everything I had to send my calmness to him, his gaze didn't falter though and his eyes grew more hypnotizing, I sucked in some breath to help strengthen my resolve and I felt his arm snake around my waist and pulled me closer. I took another long breath, preparing myself to say something, but his lips met mine. The kiss was fierce with a sense of urgency and passion that made my toes curl. I could feel all of my resolve disappearing as he deepened the kiss pulling me closer. His passion washed over me in waves and I let myself go. There was more passion than we had ever displayed in front of our family, and I was sure the feelings Jasper was giving off was not helping Emmett and Rosalie, nor Carlisle and Esme. We were in a confined space and he'd lost all control of his emotions. We'd been so careful to be alone when we were intimate I wasn't sure how this was going to affect everyone. Before I could think anymore on the subject I completely let go and lost myself to Jasper.

Before I knew what was happening Carlisle had pulled over the Jeep and hopped out quickly.

"OUT!" he yelled. I pulled myself away from Jasper, that kiss had been something else but I knew it was a product of Emmett and Rosalie. I crawled out of the car and gulped in fresh air, trying to clear my head. I was almost fearful for a moment, I wasn't sure what had transpired, in fact the last thing I could remember was kissing Jasper. My hand rose to my mouth as I tried to remember.

Esme and Carlisle were stood hands on hips breathing in the fresh air, the scene would have been quite funny if I hadn't have been feeling the same emotions. I looked at Esme again cautiously and lifted my eyebrows, I was hoping she knew what I was asking. She did and shook her head. I let the air out of my lungs and began breathing normally.

"I tried to warn you." I laughed rubbing my forehead and moving towards the Jeep. Jasper was now outside leaning against it his hand on the back of his neck looking completely ashamed of himself. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he kissed the top of my head as his arms encompassed me. I rubbed his back gently to make sure he knew that no one blamed him. Everyone knew better than to try something like that, but it was typical Emmett and Rosalie, lost in the moment and forgetting what they were doing.

That's when I realized that Rosalie and Emmett were still in the Jeep. Jasper groaned and gently banged the side of it with his fist, trying to get their attention. I was sure that they hadn't realized we'd stopped the car. It seemed they were too far gone, lost in the moment too deep to comprehend the surrounds they were in. I felt the urge to laugh hysterically but fought it. It wasn't the right time.

Carlisle marched towards the Jeep, threw open the door, and with a smirk on his face shouted loudly. "Rosalie, Emmett, out, now!"

I heard Emmett groan as Rosalie slipped out of the door. She stood grinning at the rest of us sheepishly. I knew she hadn't wanted it to get that out of hand but they'd gone to far in teasing Edward and then Jasper, and pushed themselves and Jasper over the precipice. When Jasper lost control they'd plummeted into oblivion. At least it didn't go any further than kissing. Yes, I was thankful for the little things.

Emmett finally emerged from the Jeep he was rubbing his jaw and neck in embarrassment. They'd been caught in more compromising situations but they had never instigated it with the family in the same area, let alone in the small confines of a car.

"Okay, enough's enough." Carlisle sighed now in full control of his emotions and breathing, the fresh air and removal of Rosalie and Emmett had cleared Jasper's mind so there were no rogue emotions floating about. "You two know better than that, you knew you were manipulating Jasper's emotions but refused to stop. I understand you . . . love one another, but this is neither the time or the place."

"Sorry," mumbled Emmett grinning, "I got carried away,"

"You think?" snapped Jasper rolling his eyes.

All of us stopped and glared at one another, we were all stood in a circle, just looking around at the faces that it consisted of, then we started laughing, hard. We couldn't stop, the situation was more comical than we could have ever imagined, I'd never felt more ridiculous in my life. Rosalie collapsed to the ground leaning against Emmett's legs as her silvery laugh filled the air, Emmett was folded over his face was in his hands as his booming laughter filled the empty highway and bounced from the trees surrounding us. Esme was wrapped in Carlisle's arms now laughing into his chest. Carlisle's head was buried in Esme's neck as his body shook with laughter. Jasper was crouched on the ground, one hand on the floor, the other covering his mouth as he tried to contain the raw laughter trying to escape. Me, I was sat on the floor, my knees pulled into my chest, my forehead on my knees and both hands on my sides. I was sure if someone drove past we would startle them, it must have been quite a scene. It took us quite a while to compose ourselves.

We finally got back on the road, chuckles were still evident but we'd calmed down considerably. This time the atmosphere in the car was jovial, we joked with one another, Jasper received a lot of jabs about his self control, I would always respond and blame Rosalie and Emmett, they now understood why we were so cautious around others.

When we finally arrived at our destination we were ready to hunt, Carlisle parked the Jeep away from view of the road and we clambered out and agreed on a time to reconvene. We needed to be back before Edward and Bella left for the clearing so we could finalize the details. We would be communicating via wolf, something our side wasn't too comfortable with, but knowing that Bella and Edward would be safe took away some of the uneasiness.

Jasper and I took off into the forest, I was planning on feeding from bears, it was something I didn't particularly enjoy, but it gave me more than enough strength, strength I needed. Jasper and I ran hand in hands through the forest, the light in the sky was fading and our vision was adapting to the dark. It was a perfect time to hunt.

Being post mating season we had to be cautious of not feeding from impregnated females. We tried to be as conscientious as possible, we were responsible hunters, if we wanted to continue to feed, we had to let nature run it's course. A pregnant bear was easy to determine, it always had a double heartbeat. It was the same way Carlisle discovered pregnancy in humans.

It took Jasper and I a while to come across any bears at all, we alternated feeding so both would get the sustenance they required. Our first bear was to be mine, we came across it after we'd picked up it's scent further west, it was a particularly large male who was foraging for food. It was distracted which gave me the perfect opportunity to strike.

I came from behind, my footsteps cautious, I didn't want to step on anything that would break under my weight and alert it. Jasper was leaning against a tree watching me with a grin spread widely across his face. I crouched low to the ground as I closed in on it, it was on all fours so I would have to be accurate with my landing, I shifted my weight lightly from one foot to the other, I needed the look of every angle before I pounced. I took longer than most because I would see the outcome of my decisions, it was hard to act with pure instinct when you saw how it would turn out.

I found the exact position I needed to be in to land as I wanted to and I brought my body lower to the ground, I pounced quickly, my teeth hitting their mark before the bear had time to respond, it's form slowly slumped to the ground as I drained it's body of blood. I wiped my bottom lip clean and stood up brushing the dirt and bracken from my clothes.

Jasper walked forward smiling and kissed me on the forehead, he pulled the closest tree from the ground, exposing a large hole where the roots had been, I smiled at his help and picked the bears drained body up and dropped it into the hole. Jasper replanted the tree and took my hand again. It wasn't the most pleasant clean up available, but it worked, there was no body for someone to come across, no odd wound someone would question. The trees would generally thrive on the decaying bodies, so we looked at it as helping the eco-system. We were, after all, a part of the circle-of-life.

Most of the evening was spent in this fashion, I would catch an occasional deer to cleanse my pallet but I mostly stuck to bears, it was the closest to our natural food source.

We took a break in the evening to just watch nature, we'd had plenty to drink and we were letting the blood coarse through our system a little before continuing. Jasper was sat propped against a tree and I sat between his legs, my back and head leant against his chest. I let my mind wander freely, and it quickly picked up the decision of someone I was attuned to, Edward.

He had taken Bella to his room, because he'd decided to give her the large diamond heart, just one of the things he'd been able to retrieve from his mothers house before the bank took possession of it due to the family's death. He'd placed it on a bracelet that Bella wore, it had been a gift from the wolf, her graduation gift. There was a small charm attached to it, it was a hand carved wolf, very intricate and beautiful. I knew this was a private moment and tried to tune out of it, but Edward's emotions were strong and his mind was set. It made it hard to ignore the images in my mind.

I hopped up from the ground and pulled Jasper up with me, if I was on the move it would be easier to escape the vision for a while, I wasn't sure what was coming after the gift giving and I really didn't want to find out.

We continued with our hunt, I'd taken down two more deer and a bear when I finally saw it, something I'd been waiting for, something that I was prepared for, and something that made me squeal so loud I scared the wildlife that was anywhere within a mile of me. It was a vision, Edward was down on one knee in front of Bella. . .

"Isabella Marie Swan?" he said up to her, emotion lacing every inch of his tone and face. "I promise to love you forever — every single day of forever. Will you marry me?"

I waited patiently with baited breath as Bella formed her answer her eyes were full of emotions, there was at least ten of them as the flitted through her mind. I laughed to myself as I watched.

"Yes." she breathed.

"Thank you." Edward responded kissing her fingers and his mother's ring sat beautifully on her finger, a perfect fit.

As I forced myself to break from the vision, I ran toward Jasper who looked completely confused, watching me with a bemused grin. I hopped into his arms and showered him with butterfly kisses.

"It's official." I laughed in glee, "My best friend will now be my sister."

Jasper chuckled and kissed my neck as he placed me gently on the floor. "Anyone would think you're excited." Jasper laughed taking my hand.

I laughed and slapped him gently on the chest, he was mocking me, but I was so happy I couldn't reprimand him too harshly.

We continued to hunt but I wasn't able to really concentrate, I was too excited. I was hoping Bella would let me plan her wedding. It was a huge desire of mine. Rosalie had so many of them it was no longer fun. Jasper and I married only once, there was really no need to go through the ceremony more than once, we knew how we felt about one another, we knew that it was for forever. So now, I would have a new wedding to plan, I thankfully had the dress already, thanks to Phillipe.

Bella and Edward married, that was something I had wanted for the longest time, I wasn't sure if it would happen but I was glad that my intuition had been correct. The dress would fit perfectly with the ceremony I wanted to plan. There would be no saying no, I would pout until I got my own way. I knew that Bella would fight me on it, I had seen a flicker of the Vegas strip, but she would relent and give me what I wanted, and she would love every second of it. Although the Vegas vision was becoming a little stronger than the traditional wedding, but i tried not to dwell on that.

We finally headed home as a red hue hit the horizon, introducing dawn, that wasn't good, I remembered one of Carlisle's many sayings, being English he had plenty of them, they seemed to be highly superstitious. 'Red sky at night shepherds delight, Red sky in the morning shepherds warning.' Great, like we needed anything to go wrong, the newborns were headed towards us quickly, in fact, I was sure they would be here earlier than I had first anticipated. I was also sure that a large storm was coming, it was a snow storm that would be quite vicious, but when I checked to see whether it would hit where Edward was planning on taking Bella it would disappear, damn the stupid dog.

Then I was hit with the Vegas strip again, this time it seemed to be iron clad, and the double vision I was getting meant that both Edward and Bella had made the decision. My elated mood quickly became dark. I wouldn't have been surprised if we'd arrived home and the house was on fire, it seemed to be just 'one of those days.' It was quite annoying considering how excited I'd been about the engagement.

We finally pulled up to the house around noon. Jasper had been eyeing me wearily the entire journey. I didn't want to snap at him so I kept my mouth shut. The whole family was now preparing for what was coming, each of us seemed to have shifted our moods. The playful banter from the journey to the park, was now gone and it was replaced with the serious business atmosphere of our preparations.

I walked into the house still sulking, Jasper close behind me, treading lightly. He wasn't sure of the kind of mood I was in so he was dubious. Bella and Edward met us, they were arranging the camping equipment for their night in the mountains, it reminded me of the weather vision I had seen. It was a particularly bad storm but I couldn't see if it would effect them.

"I _think_," — I could feel my brow furrow at the word, it wasn't a particularly prevalent word in my vocabulary. — "that you're going to want to pack for cold weather, Edward. I can't see where you are exactly, because you're taking off with that _dog_ this afternoon. But the storm that's coming seems particularly bad in that general area."

Edward nodded at me, to acknowledge the warning.

"It's going to snow on the mountains," I tried to emphasize the point further, but all I got was a reaction from Bella.

"Ew, snow," she muttered, I remembered then the last time I saw snow in Forks, it had been terrible, she had almost been crushed by a van, but she also ran from snowball fights.

Now she was going to ruin my plans and get married in Vegas. I was trying to fight my irritation.

"Wear a jacket," I told her, trying to hide my aggravation. She watched me carefully, I was guessing I didn't hide the attitude I had very well, I turned my head from her. I wanted her to ask me what was wrong. Edward was smiling as my head turned and I knew that he'd heard my thoughts, I was glad to know someone found it funny, because I really didn't.

The two of them headed into the garage and I stomped up the stairs to my room, I couldn't believe that she was doing this to me. I couldn't believe I was so upset about it.

I dropped onto my bed and laid flat on my stomach, I felt like a child throwing a tantrum but I really couldn't help it, every time I tried to reason with myself I became angrier because I made excuses for myself, it really wasn't helping my mood. I was trying to see something from the newborns when I heard my door open and someone put weight on the bed beside me. I knew who it was so I curled into his lap and rested my head on his shoulder.

"You okay, I thought I'd give you a little time to cool off before I came up, but nothings changed. You wanna talk about it?" Jasper was whispering into my hair softly.

"I'm just so . . . frustrated." I sighed into his chest. Refusing to look into his handsome face.

"I figured that much out sweetheart, what I'm trying to figure out is why? You were in such a good mood earlier, then we headed home and everything changed."

I sighed and sat back looking into his eyes, they were full of concern and love. I immediately started feeling guilt and selfish. He frowned when he felt the shift in my mood.

"Alice?" he asked pushing for an answer.

"Fine," I sighed. 'It started with the red sunrise, you remember that saying Carlisle always uses? Red sky at night, shepherds delight, red sky in the morning . . ."

"Shepherds warning, of course I remember." he said finishing my sentence and frowning, trying to understand.

"Well, I thought that when I saw it then started looking for the warning, after all it's always been pretty accurate, that's when I saw that weather pattern crawling in, but I couldn't see where Edward and Bella were, or whether the storm affected them because of the stupid dog that was traveling with them. That aggravated me so it put me in a bad mood, then I was hit with a double vision, and as selfish as it sounds, it really upset me. I have tried reasoning with myself, and I've tried to keep my mouth shut but it just upsets me more."

"And the double vision was?" he asked, pushing gently to get an answer and get to the bottom of my hostile mood.

I hung my head in shame and mumbled out the answer, not even sure if it was coherent. "BellaandEdwardwannagotoVegasandgetmarried."

Jasper placed a finger under my chin and pulled my head up so our eyes met. "In English?"

I sighed again, "Bella and Edward are planning on getting married in Vegas. In a drive through nonetheless!"

Jasper smiled at me and pulled me to him. "And you wanted to plan the wedding."

I nodded simply. He chuckled lightly.

"And what is funny about that?" I asked pulling away from him.

Jasper placed his hands on either side of my face and kissed my lips tenderly. "Alice, sweetheart, just talk to her. You can be quite persuasive when you want to be. I normally don't encourage you to interfere, but there's no harm in asking her about it. She was so confused when we arrived, I'm sure she's curious as to what she's done wrong."

I drew in a large breath and smiled at my husband, I closed my eyes and nodded. I was feeling foolish for overreacting.

He kissed the tip of my nose quickly. "Don't feel embarrassed, I think only Edward, Bella and I noticed."

I rolled my eyes and fell into Jasper's arms, he knew me so well, I wouldn't know what to do without him. I hopped off the bed and kissed him quickly before disappearing out of the room.

I headed down to the stairs and into the garage. Bella watched me curiously and Edward ignored me. I wasn't really all that concerned about Edward, Bella was the one I wanted to speak with.

Edward handed Bella his phone when he finished packing. "Why don't you call Jacob and tell him we'll be ready for him in an hour or so. He knows where to meet us."

Bella dialed the number and held the phone to her ear. Edward had turned down the speaker volume so I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation. He eyed me wearily.

'_Edward, I know you're aware of why I'm here, I also know that you heard why I was so angry when I got home. I just want to talk to her about it.'_ I told him the only way I knew that would be completely private. Edward's eyes moved from left to right, his eyebrows were raised.

'_I wasn't really asking but I'm trying to be polite.'_ I said defiantly.

Edward spoke low, in a voice only I would hear, it was too quiet for Bella to pick up, especially seeing as she was preoccupied with her phone call.

"Alice, I have only just got her to agree to marry me, I really don't want to test the strength of that promise with something as inane as this."

'_Inane?'_ My mind was shouting now, something he was unable to do without drawing attention to our conversation. _'You think a beautiful wedding celebrating your love for one another is Inane? Why don't you just call it the crude term you're so desperately trying to hide, stupid, absurd, ludicrous. I'll be sure to tell that to Rosalie the next time she wants to get married. If you ask me marrying in Vegas is inane!'_

'Alice," his voice was still too quiet for Bella but there was a pleading iciness in his tone. "Please, I didn't want to insult you, but I _**want**_ to marry her, I don't want to scare her away with the thought of a big wedding, you know how she feels about being in the spotlight, she just wants the ceremony over with, and to be quite honest, I don't care how it happens, I just want her to be my wife."

I could feel my anger soften, the sentiment was quite sweet, but he knew me better than to think I would give up that easily.

'_Could I at least ask her?'_ I could feel the pleading in my tone, and I was sure my eyes were reflecting that. _'Let me work my magic, if she threatens to call the whole thing off, I promise to drop it, please, Edward, please?'_ I had reduced myself to begging. Edward and I were staring at one another, his brow was furrowed with a frown. I hadn't realized Bella had stopped speaking until she handed him the phone.

"Billy said to tell you 'good luck.'" she said, I'm sure her eyes were flicking between the two of us aware of our silent conversation.

"That was generous of him," Edward said breaking eye contact. He hadn't answered so I took it as a yes.

"Bella, could I speak to you alone?" I asked.

"You're about to make my life harder than it needs to be, Alice," Edward said through a clenched jaw. "I'd really rather you didn't."

'This isn't about you, Edward." I fired back at him.

He laughed about that knowing full well, that it was about the both of them but I wasn't giving in to him that easily.

"It's not," I insisted, "This is a female thing."

A frown was all I received in response to that.

"Let her talk to me." Bella said, it seemed I had peaked her curiosity.

"You asked for it," he muttered laughing in frustration and humor as he strode from the garage.

I frowned and moved towards my Porsche, Edward had thrown me back into my frame of mind, the one Jasper had so eloquently pulled me out of. I sat on the beautiful back end of my car and thought about how to begin. Bella followed and leaned onto the car beside me.

"Bella?" I asked when I'd finally decided on the approach I would take. If I needed to play dirty I would, for now I was going to try and be honest with her. But I would keep my word to Edward, if there were any threats of backing out I would drop it. Her name had come from my lips in the saddest voice, I tried to control it a little better, I wasn't sure whether pouting would work in this case. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder to comfort me, and for a second I felt guilty about the ambush I was about to let her walk into.

"What's wrong, Alice?" she asked, her voice full of comfort and concern.

"Don't you love me?" I asked keeping the same tone I had used when saying her name.

"Of course I do. You know that." she insisted.

"Then why do I see you sneaking off to Vegas to get married without inviting me?"

"Oh," she muttered her cheeks flushing a bright pink. I could see the remorse written on her face. "You know how I hate to make a big deal out of things. It was Edward's idea, anyway."

"I don't care whose idea it was," I complained, every raw emotion was now real, I wasn't aware I was capable of such sadness, "how could _you_ do this to me? I expect that kind of thing from _Edward_, but not from you. I love you like you were my own sister."

"To me, Alice, you _are_ my sister." she said honestly.

"Words!" I snapped without meaning to.

"Fine, you can come. There won't be much to see." she sighed.

I scrunched up my face.

"What?" she demanded.

"How _much_ do you love me, Bella?"

"Why?"

I put on my best pleading face, it was one that was guaranteed to make Esme cave in so I knew it would work on Bella.

"Please, please, please," I whispered "please, Bella, please — if you really love me . . . Please let me do your wedding."

"Aw, Alice," Bella groaned, she stood up after retrieving her arm from my shoulders. "No! Don't do this to me."

"If you really, truly love me, Bella."

Bella folded her arms across her chest defiantly. "That is _so_ unfair. And Edward kind of already used that one on me."

Now it was time to pull out the big guns, I was making headway but it was time to be relentless. "I'll bet Edward would like it better if you did this traditionally, though he'd never tell you that. And Esme — think what it would mean to her!"

Bella groaned, I could see her resolve breaking just a little, the mention of Esme had been a low blow to get what I wanted but it had struck the right note.

"I'd rather face the newborns alone." she said.

"I'll owe you for a decade." I promised, keeping me pleading tones.

"You'll owe me for a century!" she sighed.

'Is that a yes?" I asked hopefully.

"No! I don't want to _do_ this!"

"You won't have to do anything but walk a few yards and then repeat after the minister." I promised.

"Ugh! Ugh, ugh!"

"Please?" I wasn't above begging, it was a good thing too, because it's exactly what I was doing, "Please, please, please, please, please?"

"I'll never, never ever forgive you for this, Alice"

"Yay!" I clapped my hands together joyously in victory. I could already see the wedding, it came as a soft but very real vision, it had been Vegas before that point but now I could see the dress, the flowers, the decorations. It would be beautiful.

"That's _not_ a yes!"

"But it will be," I answered in a sing song voice.

"Edward!" she shouted loudly and began heading towards the door. "I know you're listening. Get over here." I followed still clapping victoriously.

"Thanks so much, Alice." Edward's tone was acidic and could have burnt the skin if I'd been too close. When his eyes moved to Bella they were full of concern and worry, but I grinned happily, I knew she wouldn't call the wedding off and I knew she would do this my way, it was clear as a bell in my mind now. There was no denying it.

Bella without saying a word threw her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. I knew she was angry, but she would get over it, I could see it.

"Vegas," I heard Edward whisper lovingly.

"Not a chance." I said and I knew he'd seen my vision, "Bella would never do that to me. You know, Edward, as a brother, you are sometimes a disappointment." I teased, but I wasn't aware that Bella had taken it literally.

"Don't be mean," Bella's mumbled and smothered words reached me, "he's trying to make me happy, unlike you."

"I'm trying to make you happy, too, Bella. It's just that I know better what will make you happy . . . in the long run. You'll thank me for this. Maybe not for fifty years, but definitely someday."

'I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be willing to bet against you, Alice, but it has arrived."

I laughed brightly at her retort. "So, are you going to show me the ring?" I asked, I picked up her left hand, but there was nothing there, I dropped her hand quickly.

"Huh. I saw him put it on you . . . . Did I miss something?" I asked confused, I'd definitely seen the ring on her finger in the vision, I could have drawn it perfectly. I checked Bella's decisions to see if something had changed but I still saw the wedding with the beautiful dress and Bella looking radiant in it. "No. Wedding's still on."

"Bella has issues with jewelry," Edward said frowning at me over Bella's head.

Now it was my turn to frown. I was sure I'd seen him place the diamond heart on her bracelet, I let my eyes check quickly, yep, there it was.

"What's one more diamond?" I asked raising my eyebrows, "Well, I guess the ring has lots of diamonds, but my point is that he's already got one on—"

"Enough, Alice!" Edward cut me off, his steely glare cutting into me. "We're in a hurry."

Then it hit me, he didn't tell her it was a diamond, he had told her it was a crystal so that she would wear it without complaining, I had seriously just put my foot in my mouth, and I was struggling to find a way to backpedal.

"I don't understand, what's that about diamonds?" Bella asked, lifting her head confused.

'_Crap, sorry, Edward._' I apologized in my mind before I continued.

"We'll talk about it later," I said airily hoping that she didn't catch on to what I'd just said, maybe I'd get lucky and she'd think I was talking about a gift he hadn't given her or something obscure like that. I could always hope. "Edward is right — you'd better get going. You've got to set a trap and make camp before the storm comes." I swallowed nervously, "Don't forget your coat, Bella. It seems . . . unseasonably cold."

"I've already got it," Edward said his tone almost thankful.

"Have a nice night," I offered and walked away as they exited the garage. I hung my head and sighed heavily. How was I supposed to know he hadn't told her it was a real diamond, it wasn't like I was spying on them, their decisions came to me, if they were too personal I pushed them away.

I hadn't stuck around to see what happened after he gave her the heart, I thought they'd deserved their privacy.

Tonight they'd get privacy from me, I wouldn't see a thing. That scared me more than anything, especially knowing the storm was growing harsher by the second, and it was heading towards the direction they were going.

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**A/N: Okay**, **I know the start was a little hot 'n' heavy but I think it's a good explanation of why Alice and Jasper don't get affectionate around others. Jasper isn't really able to control what emotions he emits when losing control. I know it seems a little OOC but to me it explains their airport scene at the end of New Moon/Darkest Night.**

**I apologize about the English quip, I was born and bred over there, but live in Texas, which I love ;0). I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Thank you for the alerts and faves and thank you to the AWESOMEST REVIEWERS EVER . . . YOU ROCK! - Big hugs and thanks till next chapter -L**


	18. Chapter 18 Preparations

_**All things Twilight belong to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer. (39 days!!)**_

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**Chapter 18 - Preparations**

Bella and Edward had now disappeared from my vision, I wouldn't know how they were holding up in the storm, let alone if the storm was affecting them at all. It was difficult being blind, especially when one of my family was involved. It just so happened these were two very important family members and I couldn't see a thing. I was frustrated and scared.

The anticipation of what was going to happen tomorrow was building us up, everyone was worked up, except for Emmett who was about to burst from excitement. Each of us had our own way of dealing with it. Jasper was strolling around humming battle songs, Esme and Carlisle were locked up in their room together, Emmett kept antagonizing Rosalie, who was laying on the couch watching 'Say Anything,' and I was sat concentrating, trying to see whether or not I'd missed something. I was so worried about Bella and Edward I had no time to think of what we were doing tomorrow, I could see the storm, it wasn't pretty and I was sure they would be suffering if the storm hit anywhere near them. Not seeing what was going on up on the mountain meant one thing, the dog decided to stay.

I would occasionally step outside and look up at the Olympic range, the tops were almost completely covered by the thick purple black cloud that was dropping the weather on them. I was almost hoping to see them, but it was too far out of my sight and the storm was raging. Jasper would stand out with me, his arms wrapped around my waist reassuring me everything was fine. It was going to be a long night, the storm wouldn't relent until morning and I was sure that they hadn't packed enough to keep Bella warm during the storm. I should have paid more attention before they left. My only option was to do nothing though, I didn't know where they were to take them supplies, and even if I did I would leave a trail with my scent, I would lead the newborns directly to them. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I knew I was making things worse on myself, and perhaps more unfairly, on Jasper. Being as worried as I was I was tapping into my resources and if I continued on down the same path, I was going to have to go hunting again. It was Jasper who finally calmed me down though, he sent wave upon wave of calm and serenity over me. I ended up laying on the bed with him, his arms encompassing my now over relaxed body. It was bliss to escape the guilt and the worry, even if it was for a brief time.

He continued to reassure me that everything would be all right, Bella would be all right and there would be no trouble on the mountain. He knew I hated to be blind, and he knew how I worried about my frail human friend. It was all I could do, worry.

It was the early hours of the morning when the storm finally calmed down, I was able to breath a sigh of relief knowing that the worst of it was over and they would be fine now. I was able to train my thoughts on the task at hand. We were meeting the wolves in the clearing early, we wanted to run through what we wanted to accomplish one more time before the newborns arrived. Jasper wanted to be assured that I still had my ability in combat with the wolves being so close, he was beginning to get nervous, we'd never really been in a situation like this together and he seemed to be over thinking it now.

"Jasper." I sighed as I pulled on a light sweater I could move around easily in. "Now who's worrying too much."

"What kind of husband would I be if I didn't worry?"

I laughed at him, I couldn't think of a good retort. "We practiced with the wolves watching, Jazz, you know I can see with them around, just not when they're directly involved. They'll have their own half to deal with, I'll be fine."

Jasper smiled and relaxed a little, "I'm sorry, you know how often I had to do this, and you know that I never had anyone to really worry about. This is new to me."

I fluttered my eyelashes and raised my hand to my throat dramatically, "Why, Jaspa Hale. I do declare, your gentlemanly ways have my heart a flutta," I said in the strongest southern accent I could muster. I finished with a girlie giggle.

Jasper rolled his eyes and strode out of the room, I skipped after him laughing. "I'll make you a deal." I said normally now.

"Eh, I think I learnt my lesson with that." he laughed.

"A deal not a bet," I sighed again.

"Okay,"

We headed down the stairs slowly he was two steps ahead and I had my arms around his shoulders, with my mouth close to his ear.

"When we get to the clearing, we'll practice. Perhaps that will refresh your memory."

Jasper sighed and turned to me, his eyes were completely serious and his gaze was hard. "Alice, I know you can take care of yourself. This will not stop me from worrying, and if you want to know the God's honest truth, I hate that you're going to see me like that. It's not particularly pretty."

I threw my arms around his neck and pulled his head to my chest, laying a kiss gently in his hair, "To think after all this time, you're still worried how I see you. I would have thought you'd know how much I truly love you, nothing will ever change that, Jasper, nothing. I've seen you lose control before, you forgot how long we've been together. I know you've seen me in that state, what's the difference."

Jasper's arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me to him, his head looked up and he kissed me gently. We stood holding one another, it was something Jasper didn't do this too often, he wasn't really one for sharing his weaknesses, and it meant a lot to me that he'd been honest and told me exactly what was on his mind, no matter how ridiculous of an inclination it was.

I heard a door upstairs open and Emmet came flying down the stairs, barely missing Jasper and I.

"C'mon gang." He shouted, his eyes bright and his stance eager. He looked like a five year old who'd been promised a trip to the zoo.

Rosalie appeared at the top of the stairs. Her hands were on her hips and she was glaring at Emmett. "Why did I fall in love with the village idiot?" she asked sighing.

"Rosalie Lillian Hale!" Esme's soft voice came from further down the corridor.

"Are you denying you feel that way?" asked Rosalie, raising her eyebrows.

"Aw, Rosy, I know you love me." smirked Emmett happily.

Rosalie laughed at the pathetic puppy dog face Emmett was pulling at the bottom of the stairs.

"You're right, I do, but for an intelligent man, you have an uncanny knack of acting like a buffoon."

Everyone laughed at this, it was so true. But Emmett enjoyed making people laugh. He hated to see anyone down, but I knew, come later this morning, he would be all business. He was strong and a skilled fighter, but he would always keep his guard up in a situation, no matter how much fun he was having.

I looked around my family as we headed down the stairs. We'd been in fights and scuffs before, but never anything this serious. We knew our strengths, we knew with the wolves involvement that we would win easily, but like an actor before going out on stage, there would always be nerves mixed in with the excitement and anticipation.

The light was dancing happily on the horizon when we arrived at the clearing, it would be a sunny morning. We stayed in the open letting our skin reflect the light brightly. But the wolves six pairs of eyes could be seen in the tree line, it was almost as if they had been waiting for us to ambush them. I was amazed they could be so suspicious still. We'd offered them all of our knowledge on a platter. Practically making ourselves defenseless to them.

I approached the wolves slowly and nodded at them, they knew I would be giving them all the information I could, and that I expected them to share it with Edward and Bella.

The sun rose higher in the sky and I concentrated on what was coming, they were moving quickly now. The prospect of what was ahead of them had given them new incentive, they wanted what they'd been sent to destroy. They wanted the pleasure of the kill, they wanted to please the person that had ordered them to do this.

I was pacing slowly along the edge of the clearing I was getting nervous I still hadn't seen anything of Bella or Edward and I was getting nervous again. Jasper pulled my hand into his and washed me with more waves of calm.

"I can't see them, Jazz," I sighed feeling a little more relaxed than I had.

"Do you honestly think Edward would let anything happen to them, if it had gotten too bad he would have brought her back." he reassured me.

I sighed deeply and looked towards the wolves, they'd been laying so still in the forests edge the dew had formed on their coats. I started to walk towards them and Jasper grabbed my hand again.

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

"I'm going to ask them if everything is alright, I know they've sent one of their wolves up there, so that we can communicate. I also need to tell them to be prepared. The newborns will be here in an hour or so. We know this, I think they, and Edward deserve to know."

Jasper nodded, but rather than relinquishing the grip on my hand he walked with me towards the wolves. We stopped a couple of yards away from them. I took a deep breath before I started talking to them. They looked intimidating. Six eyes were trained directly on us and were scrutinizing every one of our movements.

"I just wanted to let you know, the newborns will be here in about an hour or so." I said loud and clearly, keeping my tone even.

The big black wolf that seemed to lead the pack simply nodded at me slowly, his eyes were kind and full of understanding.

"I also was wondering if you could tell me whether my brother and Bella were safe through the storm. I haven't seen anything of them and I knew you sent one of the younger pack members to communicate with us. Are they safe?"

The black wolf nodded once again, complete understanding filled his eyes, but I could see something else there, something I wouldn't find out. He was concerned about something.

I hesitantly turned my back on them and headed towards the rest of the family.

"Edward and Bella are fine." I relayed to them as they watched me expectantly.

Esme let out a sigh of relief, I knew she'd been just as concerned as I had been. She'd just refused to show it. She was so much stronger than the rest of us in some ways.

"Have you seen anything more?" asked Carlisle.

I shook my head, the visions were coming to me easily now that they were so close, and I found no need to concentrate on their approach. They would pick up Bella's scent before they hit the town. It would be strong to them, we'd made sure of that, we didn't want them to head towards Forks, not even for the faintest scent of Bella so we'd created a nice clean trap for them to walk into. I'd seen Bella spreading her blood on some of the ferns and rocks surrounding the area, and the breeze that was flowing through the clearing would carry the smell of it to them perfectly.

I dropped to the ground next to Rosalie, she had been quiet since we'd arrived here and I was growing curious. I didn't have time to ask though, two of the wolves sitting in the shaded trees began howling and pacing the edge of the forest. Something had disturbed them, but I wasn't sure what. They seemed on edge and upset, but a quick bark from the black wolf had them back in line and lying on either end of the line. I watched them curiously, wandering what had possessed the outburst.

I looked to Carlisle, who's eyes had narrowed in curiosity. The sudden noise had alarmed all of us, but the silence seemed even more ominous. I looked closely at the two that had howled, it had been the same two that flanked Jacob at the party, the same two that had been with him in the clearing on the second night of training. They were his friends, they were Jacob's friends. I was sure this meant that the outburst had something to do with Jacob, who was still missing from the offensive line up of the wolves.

"What was that?" asked Rosalie, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Don't speak wolf, Rose. Sorry." Emmett chuckled dropping down next to her.

"They're Jacob's friends." I sighed with concern. "I have a feeling it's something to do with him."

"Isn't he still with Edward and Bella?" asked Emmett, all playfulness dropped from his demeanor.

I nodded slowly, I couldn't be sure but I would have placed a nice fat wager on the howls being something to do with the little love triangle that was sat up on the mountain. This was a question I wouldn't be asking the wolves, and I could possibly never get an answer to. So I kept my mouth shut.

I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my head on them as I watched the now agitated wolves, the rest still seemed to grumble amongst themselves, but the two, Quil and Embry, seemed on edge, waiting to take off for something, held back only by their leaders orders. As the wolves quietened down again I let my mind float freely. I needed all the information I could get, to give us an advantage. I wouldn't be wasting an opportunity.

My mind inevitably wandered back to the wolves, Edward had attempted to explain the inner workings of the pack. It was fascinating how they interacted with one another silently in wolf form. Their connection traveled easily over long distances. I knew that Jacob had been up on the mountain, I also knew he'd been there all night. What intrigued me was, what had happened to get that sort of reaction from his friends, his pack brothers?

My thoughts on the wolves were interrupted by a decision I hadn't been expecting to see, one I was hoping wouldn't come this soon. One that I couldn't stop.

The Volturi had made a decision.

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**A/N: Sorry, I had to stay late at work, so this little filler thing is all you get . . . I hope it's semi decent. I was trying to get the atmosphere going for the next chapter, but I think it made Alice seem too worried . . . too late to get a beta lol.  
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**I'm trying to set up a ferocious battle in my head for the next chapter. I hope it'll be super long and super good. Can we say war, huh, what is it good for? Thank you for the Alerts and Fave's, AND TO MY REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS SERIOUSLY ROCK, COMPLETELY AND POSITIVELY!**

**-Bigs hugs to you, I am hoping the next chapter will be worth the wait . . . till then -L**


	19. Chapter 19 War, Huh!

_**All things Twilight belong to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 19 - War, Huh!**

Jasper felt the immediate shift in my mood and moved quickly to my side, he crouched down and pulled me into his chest. If my mood had been ominous and weary before, it was now down spiraling into oblivion. I hated that they'd chosen to come, that they'd felt the need to interfere.

"What is it, Alice?" Jasper whispered into my hair as he stroked my face gently.

I could feel how wide my eyes were, and I was aware that each of my family member were watching me curiously, concern shrouding them as they watched my horrified expression.

"Are there more?" asked Rosalie frowning. "Will they go into town?"

I shook my head and tried to remember how to form coherent sentences. "Volturi." my voice pushed the word out like it was acidic to my throat.

Every member of the family froze and watched me carefully, Jasper's arms were still surrounding me but his limbs had become solid in the revelation. Carlisle was the first to regain his composure.

"When?" he asked looking towards the tree line where the wolves were laying.

"Shortly after the fight. They were ordered quietly by Marcus, someone I don't watch. Aro just found out and decided to go along with it, he's curious, they're already on their way. They're hoping for casualties."

Carlisle nodded once and looked over at the wolves again. My gaze followed his and I knew that this was the only way to get a message through to Edward.

"So how long?" Emmett asked again, I knew he wouldn't give up that easily with all of the talk of Felix when we returned from Italy it was no wonder he was asking.

"Couple of hours," I mumbled, trying to concentrate again, I felt emotionally drained. This was going to be a very long day.

As I watched the decisions that were now coming from the opposite side of the world, I sighed a rather large sigh of relief. Aro was merely curious, he wanted to see our coven, how many of us there were and what we were capable of. They hadn't come to check on Bella, and Aro knew from the many visions he had pulled from me that Bella's change would happen in time, but it still hadn't happened yet. It wasn't something that could be rushed. As primal as they were in their actions I at least believed that the at least understood that. They' had sent Jane and Felix though. Neither were too keen on either Edward or I but I knew they would follow the orders given to them, if we were alive, leave us unharmed. He still had hopes of us joining them.

They were, however hoping that we would have serious casualties, Edward had been right, they were concerned about our size, and our strength.

Jasper stood up from next to me and I held out my hands for him to take. He pulled me to my feet and swept me into a tight hug. I felt another wave of serenity hit me before I pulled away. I had to tell the family what this was about, warn the wolves and ask them to get a message to Edward. I wasn't sure if the wolves would know the consequences of the Volturi coming. I wasn't even sure whether Jacob had gone into detail about who they were.

"They aren't coming to check on Bella," I said turning to my family. "They're coming to clean up this mess, and they're curious. I don't think Aro really understands how we all survive together as a family. Marcus and Caius seem to be concerned about the size of our coven, they see us as a threat. It will be Jane and Felix, along with some more of the guard. They're hoping that us being outnumbered will give us casualties. That's all I have for now."

Carlisle nodded solemnly "We need to face them together, if they notice Bella and Edward gone they'll get suspicious. We'll need to send the wolves away as soon as this mess is over. The Volturi don't honor treaties with wolves. We need to make sure that they are out of the way. Alice, do you think you could talk to them and explain? Ask them to relay the message to Edward and Bella?"

I nodded once and waited for him to finish. "We need to keep an eye out, we don't need them walking up on this fight. The wolves will be too obvious, and Edward and Bella's absence will seem suspicious to them."

We all nodded, we would have this added burden, but it wouldn't change much, I would just keep a weary eye on Jane. Now I knew they were sending her, her decisions would be easy to pick up. One thing I knew for certain was that they were planning their arrival after the fighting, they would wait for the smoke to rise before they made an appearance.

"They won't come until after, I can see it." I said looking around the group. I was hoping my reassurances would clear their minds and give them the opportunity to concentrate on the fight that was coming, with no distractions.

"Are you sure?" Esme asked softly.

I nodded, "They'll wait for the thick cloud of smoke, they'll be a distance away in the mountains. She's planning on heading towards us when the smoke is thick."

"The mountains?" Rosalie hissed looking around her.

"Too far to see us, but close enough to see the smoke."

"Bella and Edward?" Esme asked.

"Different mountain, they'll be in the opposite direction." I answered.

Carlisle nodded and looked at his watch. "How much longer, Alice?"

I thought about the newborns and waited, about thirty minutes. They were starting to speed up, they wanted to hurry, the promise of the girl was to much for some of them. They were down to nineteen but they would lose another before they arrive. It would give us nine each.

"Thirty minutes or so, they're speeding up. They be down to eighteen when they get here."

Carlisle nodded. "We need to relay this information to the wolves and get the information about the Volturi to Edward. Can you see Edward?"

I concentrated on my brother but there was nothing, the wolves were still missing Jacob, so I assumed that there were currently two wolves on the mountain with Bella and Edward. I wouldn't be able to see a thing.

"Nope." I pouted. "But I'll go speak with the wolves."

Carlisle nodded and looked at Esme, I saw a flash of something in his eyes but I wasn't sure what it was. It was, however, enough to scare me. I took Jasper's hand and pulled him with me towards the wolves. He hadn't offered this time, but with the information I was about to give them, and not knowing their reaction, I needed him there as support.

I stopped the same distance as I had before, it was a precaution, we had a temporary truce, we were fighting together but one wrong move and it could end. I shuffled from one foot to another, trying to find the right words to explain what I needed to tell them.

"I have some more information." I said slowly and as friendly as I could. The smell was overpowering, especially with the six of them laying casually in the grass, surrounded by the trees. "The newborns will be down to eighteen when they arrive. It should only be thirty minutes or so, they've sped up, they're eager."

There was a rumble from the wolves it was a menacing sound, but something told me it was stemmed from their excitement. Killing vampires is what they were made for, and they seemed to enjoy it. Sam, the big black wolf, nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"There's more." Jasper added, his tone was flat. "We need you to get a message to Edward and Bella, can you do that?"

Sam nodded again and his calm eyes turned to me, as if he knew I would be the one to explain.

"The Volturi are coming," I paused, there were low growls emitting from the wolves, something told me that Jacob _had_ explained what the Volturi were after we took off to Italy. I couldn't blame him, they were, for the wolves, the epitome of evil. The thing they hated the most, the reason they were created. I couldn't exactly say we were happy about the news either, but it was done, and they _were_ coming. The looks in the eyes of the wolves told me that the wouldn't go quietly, that they wanted to start a fight with the guard that was coming. This wouldn't help, I had to discourage it. I waited as the nose died down.

"I understand your repugnance, but there is no stopping them once a decision is made. They will wait in the mountains for us to finish. You must leave as soon as the fight is over, we don't want them to discover you, they aren't as amenable as we are, they won't honor the treaty."

There was another ripple of snarling and growling. I wasn't making the situation any better with what I was telling them but I had to make them understand how dangerous the Volturi were, and how much damage they could inflict. If provoked, they would wipe out the wolves with an ease an grace that would never be detected, they would simple become missing persons or victims of a large fire. The Volturi were skilled, they had been doing this kind of thing for thousands of years, wiping out a pack of wolves would be just another day.

"They will not feed in this area, but if they are aware of you being here, we're worried they will react. They have a large and powerful guard, it's not something we want to invoke. They will leave quickly when they discover the battle is over. You must leave, I am aware of how eager you are to protect your land and your people, leaving is the only way to do this effectively. Starting a war with the Volturi will not bring a welcome outcome, for any of us."

Sam nodded again but with a little more acid this time, he eyes weren't so calm and I knew that the thought of the Volturi made their skin crawl.

"I need you to relay all of this to Edward, and ask him and Bella to return once the fighting is over. If the Volturi notice the two of them missing, they will send someone out to look for them."

Sam nodded again, his look was weary now. I wasn't certain but I was sure it was something happening on the mountain. Nothing to do with the fight, and certainly nothing to do with the volturi, bu there was something there.

"Thank you." I backed away and headed back towards the family again. This was shaping up to be one of the strangest days. I would be in a small war, we would be visited by the Volturi, we were working with wolves, and my brother was mixed up in something strange on the mountain. Something I couldn't see because there were wolves involved. This would definitely gone down as one of my more abnormal days.

We sat patiently waiting, we'd finished the preparations, we'd made a rock circle for the fire we would have to burn the remains, and we didn't want the fire to spread. All we had to do was wait, and it was excruciating. I could see the wolves growing impatient their restlessness was unnerving, and made all of us uncomfortable. Rosalie was sat close to Emmett, her eyes never left the wolves. They were moving around in the shadows, I wasn't sure what excitement was about, they'd been laying so still for most of the morning.

"Hmm, where's he going?" I turned to see what Rosalie was referring to. It wasn't hard to miss, one of the horse sized wolves was retreating into the forest. I frowned and rocked onto my knees, watching as the wolves watched the other retreat. It was completely out of sight, but there was another wolf standing, watching us closely.

"What are they doing?" Emmett asked as another wave of movement came from the wolves.

Carlisle's wide eyes answered the question, he didn't know.

"Is that . . ." Esme's voice trailed off as the rest of us turned to look in the direction she was staring in, one of the Quileute's, had turned back into his human self and he was approaching us barefoot wearing only a pair of sweats. He stooped in the middle of the clearing. I understood immediately what he wanted and hopped onto my feet, Jasper grasped my hand, I smiled down to reassure him that I would be fine. He relented but hesitantly. He wasn't thrilled that I would be alone with a wolf, in human form or any other, it didn't take a lot for a wolf to phase.

My family watched as I jogged at human pace to where the Quileute boy was stood and stopped. I gave him a reassuring smile, hoping to encourage him to speak. I could tell he was uncomfortable. He was probably feeling as uneasy as I was. I recognized the boy and tried to use it to my advantage.

"Hi, Embry, Right?" I asked, keeping my tone light. The boy nodded and looked back at one of the wolves who was stood watching carefully.

"Edward, wanted to give you a message, he asked you to narrow down the time frame on the arrival of the Vol . . .Vul . . ."

"Volturi?"

"Yeah."

"If you could tell him when the fighting ends and the smoke is thick, they will come quickly from the mountains. They'll be waiting for the smoke from the newborns. There is no exact time, it's when we've taken care of the newborns."

Embry nodded and turned away from me.

"Hey, Embry,"

The boy turned again to look at me.

'What's going on up in the mountains?" I asked quietly. "Is Bella okay?"

Embry simply nodded and jogged away without saying another word. I was frustrated by his simple answer and turned on my heel to leave. My feet stopped moving when I saw a decision I hadn't expected to see. Bella was in the tent alone crying, she was making a decision and I could see the wedding clearly, but there were changes. I wasn't sure what they were, but the whole atmosphere was different, she'd made a decision about her and the wolf but I couldn't see that. I got her future with Edward, and I knew what that meant. She'd chosen him, everything had finally come out and she'd chosen Edward. As much as it hurt her, she'd made her decision.

My step back to my family was a little more buoyant now, I had seen what I had been so desperate to see and it settled my heart and my mind. I could finally focus on the battle ahead of me. There was a slight nagging in my head as to what the change in t he wedding had been, but I put it aside, I knew that now was not the time to dwell on nuptials. It was almost time to fight.

Nothing else happened and it made the time slow to a measly crawl, I was sure that it had stopped. I continued to check on the progression of the newborns and they were moving quickly. Any minute now they would pick up the trail of scent we'd left for them, we would have to be ready, we had the element of surprise and we couldn't waste it.

Jasper had told each of us where to place ourselves, of course he had me almost hidden from the first wave of attack, I wasn't happy about it but I knew he was doing it because he loved me and he needed that piece of mind.

Before I took my place I lingered, I had to give the wolves the signal as the newborns picked up the trail, the wolves would have to make themselves scarce until their half entered the forest to round on us. I saw the wolves move around and realized they'd been joined by Jacob, who seemed to be a little more jubilant than the occasion called for, but I didn't have time to worry about that, it would only be a few minutes now, they'd picked up Bella's scent and they would hit ours in less than five minutes.

I waved my arms in the air above my head, it was the only signal the wolves had asked for, they'd know what it meant, and they moved quickly. Each of them disappeared into the tree line, their large bodies disappearing and blending with the trees until I could no longer see them. They had planned their attack well according to Edward, the last night of training in the clearing they had been going over strategies while they watched us. They had the advantage of the trees and they would use that cover well, moving quietly and precisely in their attacks, they would take no unnecessary risk.

I glanced down the trail. They would be picking up our scent and breaking off in a minute and a half. I ran as fast as I could to my place among my family.

My stomach twisted in the anticipation, I couldn't believe what we were about to do, it seemed so ludicrous. I looked around my family as the footsteps became louder. It sounded so much more than eighteen but they were still moving together quickly. In less than a minute they would hit our scent and break up.

Emmett was rolling on his feet, ready to take off at the first sight of a newborn. Jasper had a serious face on, but there was a spark in his eye, it was something he couldn't hide from me. Rosalie looked at me with trepidation, she hated being outnumbered and she hated not being in control, I knew that she and I would be easy targets. We looked like the weaker members of the coven. I would stick as close to her as I could, Emmett and Jasper would be on their own animalistic paths, their instincts would take control of them and they would be in the moment. I had a gift, I could see what was coming for me, but Rosalie was on her own. She was one of our strongest and most skilled fighters but I had the edge that would make her practically invincible.

Esme and Carlisle were stood together, they were ready to crouch into position as soon as I gave the word, but they both looked so relaxed still, it was a little disconcerting. They worked well as a team and I knew this would be no exception.

The newborns hit our scent at the exact second I had known they would, all of them stopped and silently fought about who was going in what direction. They weren't organized at all and there were at least two fights about the direction in which they were going. Then they split up, they no longer cared who went where and a group was heading directly towards us, I could smell them now, they were moving faster, they weren't expecting us to be prepared. I felt a rippling snarl build in my chest, there were no need for words, my family would know what it meant. The electricity in the air from the anticipation was almost tangible

The snarl escaped my chest as the newborns hit the edge of the clearing, in mere seconds they would be directly in front of us. Each of the family crouched low to the ground waiting for them to appear, the first pale young man appeared directly ahead of us and Jasper and Emmett took off, Emmett was growling louder than I'd ever heard him, but there was a happy sound within it. They both hit the newborn and began wrestling with him, they were playing with him, the two of them could have easily taken him out right then but they were antagonizing him. It wasn't long until the rest of them began heading to the fight ahead of them. We knew we had to make a move before the were on top of Jasper and Emmett, but it was too late, one of the newborns pounced at Emmett shouting loudly about an unfair advantage. Emmett was quicker than him, he left the first young man with Jasper and threw the red headed man across the clearing, laughing merrily as the red head hit the trees. He was off in an instant charging the vampire, a menacing growl escaping him as he moved. The re headed man was trying to get to his feet and into a crouch before Emmett reached him, but it was too late. Emmett hit him with a force that could cause an avalanche, the boom was so loud the ground shook ever so slightly.

Jasper was still circling with the first male, the glimmer of excitement in his eye had become a sparkle, a ripping snarl was resonating from the trees surrounding the clearing. It was evident how much he was enjoying the challenge. The male seemed like he'd taken the dominant position of the newborns as they had traveled, his smirking face continued to feign pouncing to throw Jasper off his task, but Jasper stayed still, only moving as the rowdy young male circled him slowly.

Rosalie and I looked at one another and headed into the midst of the fight, both of us growling as we moved. I saw a young female as she attempted to pounce on Jasper as he held his attention with the young male. She would never have made contact, but I wasn't giving her the chance to either. I charged with all the speed I could, I didn't stop as I approached her, I picked up one of her arms and pulled on it as I passed. My speed and surprise had taken her off guard and she hit the ground sliding through the damp grass quickly. A growl escaped her as she stopped and rolled onto her feet and into a crouch. I slid to a stop and raised my eyebrows at her, crouching low, mirroring her. She was unskilled and thought through each of her moves before she made them, it was instinctual but her mind would process it before she moved into it. She had an entire routine picked out in her head before she moved. For a newborn she was more skilled than most and I gave her a little credit for it. If I hadn't seen her decisions, I may have fallen for it. But as she moved gently from one foot to the other sneering at me, I saw her pounce and rolled away from her. She landed six feet behind me and I spun to keep my eye on her. I wasn't going to let her out of my line of vision.

As she decided her next move I caught site of Rosalie, she was moving quickly around one of the larger males. She was gaining momentum and advantage the more he put up an offensive. I could see his frustration at being fought by a girl, but I knew she had him under control, she was practically smiling. He was so large and cumbersome she easily danced through each of his attacks, he never saw her move, she was quicker than he'd anticipated, but she didn't have the full advantage yet, and a quick look around had told me none of us had yet.

As the girl I was fighting finally came to a decision I stepped aside and let her slide past me, I spun again but made the decision to take an offensive on her next move. She was planning on going low with her arms wide, each time she had attacked, I'd moved to where she'd missed me by mere inches. This gave me the upper hand in the situation. I knew that in an instant I could turn it around on her and take her down before she realized. She circled me again slowly glaring, I knew that she was running through possibilities in her head, and I would know as soon as she'd settled on one. She was thinking about it too much. Most of the others were so instinctual.

I heard a loud screeching noise behind me, someone had hit their mark I wasn't sure what had happened, I wanted to look the girl ahead of me was preparing to pounce.

All around us in the open area was noise, screaming shouting, yelling, growling, crashing, but this exact moment had me concentrating on one thing. The girl ahead of me, and her decisions. She was grinning widely waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a move. To throw her off balance I moved to the side, beginning to circle her once again. I wanted to know what was going on behind me. The movements would buy me a little time because it threw her from her decision. We were moving and she was sure my move would once again counteract hers.

As we swapped positions, she now had her back to what I had been missing. There were piles of dirt flying around the area, the morning dew had caused the clearing to become muddy with the feet of the multiple attackers. It was a confusing scene. The vampires who didn't seem to be fighting any particular person seemed confused at what they should be doing. They stood with mouths open looking around at the fighting. Esme and Carlisle stood. They had a large guy in between them, they were circling him slowly. One of his arms had been detached, I could see it on the ground looking for it's mark. We'd been lucky so far. Three of the vampires seemed too confused to join in, they weren't sure how to help, or even where to start. Each of us were moving in a blur of speed. Knowing how to counter each of their attacks.

As Emmett fought I saw one of the last males head towards him, another seemed to go for Jasper, both Jasper and Emmett had two attackers, it had been a split second decision after taking in the scene. They now knew what they had to do, but still one girl stood to the side looking reluctant to join in the fight.

The girl I was fighting pounced again, I hopped to the side, I was a little concerned about Jasper, he seemed fine taking on the two newborns, but _I_ was getting nervous. If I wanted to help him I would need to take care of the girl I was fighting.

That never became an option. The two fighting Jasper bolted towards me as if they had known he'd wanted to protect me. He took down one of them before thinking about it and had his teeth at his neck, detaching his head as a loud metal keening filled the open space. Each of the newborns flinched at the sound, a few of the growled that their numbers were now declining, but Jasper continued to work. He wouldn't be letting this vampire get back up.

As Jasper detached the head completely he threw it into the pit we'd prepared earlier in the evening, killing vampires inevitably meant fire, we were prepared for that.

As I circled with the girl again the second vampire that had been fighting Jasper approached me. He took the another side of me than the girl, he glared at me but there was a small smirk on his lips. He thought he was going to get Jasper thrown off his path, but I was hoping he would stay preoccupied, I could take control of this situation. We'd prepared for it. Both Emmett and Rosalie had been trying to take me down and more often than not I had the upper hand, and that was against two skilled fighters, I had no doubt I could take care of these two newborns. Both newborns made the decision to work together in my demise, I could see the small hand gestures and the looks. I could also see the decisions they were making. I decided to take one of them out so I could concentrate on one of them. I knew it would be difficult to get close to one of them when the other was using it to their advantage, but I had the advantage of seeing their attack before they made it, I could work around the situation.

I had no time to see where everyone else was. I needed to concentrate on the two correlated decisions that were facing me. My eyes darted between them, I didn't want to be overly confident and close my eyes, this wasn't the time to be arrogant.

The girl rocked back on her heels and crouched for a pounce, I knew instantly what was going to happen. She would go left, I would go right and the buffoon behind me would head to my right and catch me as I avoided the pounce. The girl was sure this would work. This would be a perfect opportunity to take her out of the game. I crouched ready for both of them. The girl nodded infinitesimally before springing, as she sprang towards me I waiting to take my opportunity, I knew the guy was coming from behind me but I would be going left and taking the girl out as quickly as I could. He would pass by me, even though he never expected it. But something was in my path halfway through the movements. He moved quickly and I had to jump to avoid him. Jasper had decided he would save me from the predicament I was in. As I used the girl as a spring board and brought her with me, the guys teeth made contact with Jasper's arm. The teeth sunk into his solid skin before Jasper brought his arms around the guys neck and ran his razor sharp teeth along his neck and pulled him by the hair with his spare arm. The guys teeth released Jasper's skin quickly and his body slid to the ground as Jasper held the head by the hair. He looked angry at himself, he knew better than to expose himself like that but he was determined to keep me safe. If it had been up to him I would have been sat at the house doing nothing. He knew me better than that, I was a strong woman and independent in some ways, he knew that I could look after myself but his protective side had prevailed, this was why he had been bitten.

Jasper rubbed his arm furiously and he began working to pull apart the male that had bitten him.

I had the girl on the ground now, my teeth were at her throat. I ran them along the line of her neck before pulling with all of my strength to detach the head from the body that was now lying rigidly beneath me.

'What the hell was that?" I shouted at Jasper as I threw the head towards the small fire that Esme and Carlisle had started.

Jasper shrugged his shoulders and began pulled and tugging at the body in front of him. He would occasionally stop to rub his arm, the venom irritated and stung our skin, I had never felt it but Jasper had once described it too me. I shook my head at him, how could anyone so sensible be so silly. He knew better than that, he'd had an entire history of it, but I was his one weakness, he felt the need to step into anything that threatened our happy little world together.

After this situation it became evident that he would do anything to protect me, but I loved him entirely too much to let him do that. It was unnecessary, I'd had it under control, but what worried me more was what if a larger situation ever occurred? To what lengths would his push himself to? Would it end up killing him? I would never let him do this again. He knew better, he was a soldier, he was my husband, he knew me better than that.

As I glanced around the clearing, I realized that our side was simmering down to a close, Rosalie had gotten the upper hand in her fight and was now pulling apart the body with a finesse only Rosalie could obtain while executing such a gruesome task. Esme was throwing parts into the fire and Carlisle was speaking with the girl who'd never attempted to join in the fight. Emmett had a pile of pale limbs surrounding him, he'd taken down the two that had attacked him, he seemed disappointed that it was over. We would be helping the wolves as they added the mutilated parts to the fire, I could hear the metallic screeching as it resonated through the forest, they had defeated their side, from what we could hear.

I continued to pull apart the girl I'd fought with, but in the back of my mind, I knew that all too soon the smoke would thicken and the satanic cherub faced Jane would make her way towards us.

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**A/N: Sorry, I worked 18 hours Tuesday and it sucked. By the time I got home I was dead on my feet and I had only written two paragraphs, so it would have been an impossibility to get the chapter up on Tuesday night, especially with how much I wanted to put into it. I know being that tired it wouldn't have come out anywhere near how I wanted it to. I was going to put up a chapter with an Authors note but I know how I feel about those and I didn't wanna do that to you. ;0)**

**Swimbuttefly; thank you for the suggestion but the reason I didn't do that (Make Bella's future disappear) was because even when Bella was kissing Jacob she knew it would never be enough, she was too in love with Edward. It even passes through her mind during the kiss so I don't think that she would have ever changed her mind no matter what she saw in her future with Jacob.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I was excited to write this. I still hadn't finished this by last night, there was so much I wanted in there and I didn't want to upload what I had without editing it, by the time I had simply finished writing it was 1am so I figured I would edit this morning so I would be happy with the results. I hope you are happy too. Next chapter should be up tonight. **

**Anyway, thanks for the Alerts and Faves, that's so awesome, to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS ROCK HARDCORE! SORRY I KEPT YOU WAITING THREE DAYS, I FEEL SO BAD! Let me know how I did ;0) Big hugs -L**


	20. Chapter 20 The Guard

_**All things Twilight belong to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer (36 days till Breaking Dawn)**_

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**Chapter 20 - The Guard**

The wolves dragged the pieces to the edge of the forest and we continued to throw them into the fire, the large and thick purple cloud of smoke was growing rapidly and I knew it would be a matter of time before Jane and her friends would make the decision to head towards us. We had to clear up the mess and quickly so we could get the wolves away before the Volturi came.

The last of the bodies were being piled onto the fire, Jasper was talking with Carlisle about the newborn vampire girl, he hadn't wanted to keep her alive. After all of the years he'd been working with Maria, it had become almost instinctual to take them all out. Carlisle disagreed, he had told the girl we would not harm her because of her refusal to fight.

I was waiting for Jane's decision to come to us, but the wolves howls had disturbed my train of thought. The wolves had let out a wailing howl in unison, there closeness had made the noise so much louder, but it was the pain and despair behind the howl that concerned me.

Without another thought I took off into the forest towards the noise, the noise scared me not only because of the pain, but because my brother and best friend were on a mountain with one of them.

I ran though the trees weaving through them until I came to the noises that were now mere whimpers.

I stopped at where the wolves were congregated and spun quickly at the footsteps behind me, I crouched quickly.

"It's just me, Alice." I heard Carlisle's voice and rose once again to my full height.

Hearing the noise behind them some of the wolves turned, their teeth were bared and their shackles were up, but the big black dog, that was Sam, glanced at them reproachfully. For some reason he seemed to just understand, born as sworn enemies didn't mean we'd lost our civility.

The dogs moved calmly to the side, some were still nervous but they were following direct orders. It was then that I saw what they were circling and my heart dropped.

One of the wolves was laid on the ground, the broken bones were evident. It whined as it tried to raise to it's feet, and then I saw _who _it was.

"No! Carlisle, you have to help him." I shouted.

Each of the wolves looked at me curiously, I was sure they couldn't understand my actions, they probably never would. As much as I hated the rivalry between my brother and this dog for Bella's affection I would never have wished this on the wolf. Bella still cared for him no matter what decision she had made, and this would hurt her. Sam disappeared into the trees briefly and came back as a human, his expression was still full of curiosity, but he knew that he had to communicate with us.

Carlisle pushed past me to the center of the wolves, I could see his hesitance, the wolves were circled around him and were practically glaring at him. Jacob stayed still and let a small whine escape. It was more pitiful than I could have ever imagined. The pack were centered around him in concern, I could see the two that were his friends, they were more willing to get close to Carlisle than the rest of them. Their concern for their friend outweighed any enmity they had towards us..

"Move back." Sam ordered the wolves.

The wolves backed away and let Carlisle work, he didn't have his bag so he was unable to do anything substantial to help. But he examined the bones carefully.

"Sam, the bones are beginning to heal, some may be heal wrong, I need you to ask him to phase back, it'll be easier to treat him."

Sam nodded and approached Jacob quickly, he looked to the wolves that were Embry and Quil to help him, they were close friends.

"What happened, Sam?" Carlisle asked as he lightly ran his hand over Jacob's wolf form, looking for more broken bones.

"We missed one, Leah found it and tried to take it out on her own, Jacob saw the disadvantage she had and pushed her out of the way, the bloodsucker was too quick and had his arms around him before any of us knew what was happening. Paul and I were able to get him away from Jacob and finish him off, but he had already hit his mark, we heard the bones crunching." Sam said looking a little nauseous. He looked around the group of wolves briefly and shook his head in sadness. "Jared, go and find Leah. She took off towards the rez."

One of the wolves broke away from the pack and took off with speed. I watched as it disappeared into the trees.

"Edward and Bella, how did they do?" I asked, thinking of my brother who was stuck on the mountain worrying about the battle down here. I was sure that he was aware of what had happened to Jacob.

"Well, they had a fight on their hands, but they came out unharmed." Sam said honestly.

"A FIGHT!" Carlisle and I shouted together.

Sam looked between the two of us, his eyebrows were raised. "The red head was there, with the one who was in Bella's bedroom, as soon as Seth smelled him we recognized the scent from Jacob's memory. Edward took down the red head and Seth took care of the male."

"Bella?" I asked looking nervous. "She was in shock but came around quickly."

I wavered on the spot lightly and shuddered, poor Bella. The trouble always seemed to find her. As I concentrated on trying to find her I was hit with an even stronger vision . . . Jane was coming, and they were moving fast.

"Carlisle . . ." I gasped. His head turned in my direction his brow furrowed from the concentration, but once he saw my expression, his demeanor turned to worry.

"You have to take Jacob home, now!' Carlisle said quietly. "The Volturi are coming, get him to phase back, I'll be there as soon as we get rid of them."

Sam looked around the group and nodded. "Quil, Embry. Phase back, I need you to help me carry him, the rest of you stay as you are, but head for home. Phase back before you get into town. We'll meet at Billy and Jake's house."

"Charlie!" I said simply, I know they understood my concern.

"I'm hoping to have Jacob phase back before we get there. Just get rid of these Volturi animals, I can't offer their safety if they cross onto our land. For your family, we are temporarily suspending the ban so you can help Jacob. Please hurry."

I nodded, the movements were mirrored by Carlisle.

"Please, if you can, get a message to Edward and tell him they're coming. They're moving fast, you all have to leave, now." I said desperately.

The wolves immediately began to move and Carlisle and I headed back to the family quickly. Taking the body parts of the vampire that attacked Jacob as we went. We had to get the last of the parts into the fire, the teeth marks and scratches on some of the parts would look suspicious.

It was then that I saw Edward carrying Bella down the mountain, they were no where near the wolves now and I could see every one of Edward's decisions as he ran. Bella had asked him about the howling, but I didn't have time to finish the thought, we had work to do, it would be mere minutes until they arrived. We were running out of time and fast.

When I could hear Edward running towards us, we'd just finished with the bodies, the smoke filled the air now, it seemed to be driving Jane forward a little faster, she seemed anxious to get to us.

Edward appeared at the edge of the clearing, Bella was in his arms limp, her limbs swung heavily as he ran towards us.

"Carlisle," Edward was shouting for our father as he neared us, the panic had overtaken him and his face seemed lined with concern.

Edward came to a stop in front of our father and I ran to his side. He placed Bella gently on the floor in front of us.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked opening one of Bella's eyes.

"I told her about Jacob." sighed Edward, there was a striking pain apparent in his eyes, I wasn't sure what had happened in the last twenty four hours, but I knew that it was big. I had known something had happened when I saw Bella in the tent, but I hadn't been prepared for the pain that would come with it.

"Edward?" I asked, he looked up at me and shook his head once. I knew he didn't want to explain, and he certainly didn't want Bella to overhear.

'_Edward, listen to me. I don't know what happened up on that mountain, but I saw Bella up there briefly, she had made a decision. She chose you, Edward. She wants to marry you. You're all she's ever wanted. You're all she'll ever want. If part of this is about something that happened between her and Jacob, it doesn't change anything, I still see her future clearly, and it's with you_. _As much as you hate to hear it, she also changes, and she's happy!'_

Edward looked at me, his eyes voicing his appreciation, I let the vision play in my head briefly so he could see what I meant. He flinched a little at Bella changing but he no longer seemed so opposed to it. As Carlisle had said, it seemed to be the natural progression of things, to me it was no longer and if, but a when.

Carlisle held Bella's wrist gently monitoring her heart rate and blood pressure. Edward kneeled beside her and stroked her face gently, his other hand took one of hers. Esme crouched close to her and gently stroked her hair.

I was stood between the group surrounding Bella and Jasper. Jasper had taken it upon himself to watch the newborn, she was thirsting for Bella. It seemed that for weeks Bella's smell had been thrown in their faces, and that, mixed in with the large and over powering desire for blood, the newborn girl, seemed tormented. She would look longingly towards Bella and her face contorted into pure longing. There was no leaving her alone.

The newborn girl shifted slightly as Bella's scent hit her again, Esme was obviously still stroking her hair. The newborn girl raised her hands to her head and rocked on the spot pitifully. Jasper immediately growled and leaned in toward her, his entire being exuded hostility.

I turned back to the small crowd surrounding Bella. She would wake up soon. It was a good thing too, the Volturi would be arriving in less than six minutes.

"Poor thing," Esme sighed gently.

"Carlisle — it's been five minutes," Edward said anxiously. I could understand his anxiety, Bella had fainted before but it had been a quick dip and then she would wake up, I was sure this was the longest she'd ever been out, but I knew that she'd be waking up soon. In fact, I could almost make out her decision to open her eyes.

"She'll come around when she's ready, Edward." Carlisle soothed, his voice even and calm. "She's had too much to deal with today. Let her mind protect itself."

Edward gazed back down at Bella, I could see he was worried.

"Alice, how long do we have?" Edward looked up at me, his eyes still pleading.

"Another five minutes. And Bella will open her eyes in thirty-seven seconds. I wouldn't doubt that she can hear us now." I said merrily, I could see the future so clearly now it was hard to not be in a good mood.

"Bella, honey?" Esme asked softly, "Can you hear me? You're safe now, dear."

Edward leant in close to Bella, I knew I didn't need to listen, I was pretty sure he was telling her Jacob was healing, and he would be fine. Her mind had locked itself away from consciousness, so much had happened in such a short space of time, it was hard for her to process, and in true Bella fashion, I was sure she was blaming herself for his injuries.

"Oh, Bella," I heard Edward sigh as her body released her from it's prison.

"Edward,"

"Yes, I'm here." he answered her.

"Jacob is okay?"

"Yes." his voice was full of conviction.

"I examined him myself," Carlisle offered reassuringly. "His life is not in any danger. He was healing at an incredible rate, though his injuries were extensive enough that it will still be a few days before he is back to normal, even if the rate of repair holds steady. As soon as we're done here, I will do what I can to help him. Sam is trying to get him to phase back to his human form. That will make treating him easier. . . I've never been to veterinary school."

"What happened to him?" Bella whispered, her voice weak and full of exhaustion. "How bad are his injuries?"

"Another wolf was in trouble — " Carlisle started.

"Leah," Bella finished.

"Yes, he knocked her out of the way, but he didn't have time to defend himself. The newborn got his arms around him. Most of the bones on the right half of his body were shattered." Carlisle said apologetically. "Sam and Paul got there in time. He was already improving when they took him back to La Push."

"He'll be back to normal?"

"Yes, Bella. He won't have any permanent damage."

"Three minutes." I called out, I could see where Jane and the guards were.

I looked back at Jasper briefly, he was still holding his threatening stance towards the newborn girl. He wouldn't let her move. She was curled up on the ground into a ball, holding her legs to her in comfort. Jasper's intensity radiated from him, it wasn't strong, but it was enough to feel. He wouldn't take any risks with Bella being so close. I turned back to see Bella now standing, and headed towards her and Edward.

Emmett and Rosalie were stood close by us. They were too lost in their own conversation to notice much, but Emmett was anticipating the arrival of the Volturi guard, after the description of our trip, he'd become intrigued, he wasn't aware of what was so intimidating about them. He was about to find out.

Bella stared past me at the vampire girl who was huddled into a ball. She looked at her curiously.

"She surrendered," Edward said quietly, I looked around. "That's one I've never seen before. Only Carlisle would think of offering. Jasper doesn't approve."

"Is Jasper all right?" Bella asked. I turned again to look at Jasper, he was rubbing his arm again where he was bitten.

"He's fine," Edward said gently. "The venom stings."

"He was bitten?" Bella's voice sounded horrified that the newborns had gotten so close.

"He was trying to be everywhere at once. Trying to make sure Alice had nothing to do, actually." Edward, said. "Alice doesn't need anyone's help."

"Overprotective fool." I muttered, watching him as he tried to sooth his arm.

The newborn girl threw her head back and cried stridulously. Jasper growled at her and she shied away from him again. Her fingers dug deep into the dirt and grass surrounding her, she rolled her head in torment, she was suffering, she wanted Bella's blood. The urge was becoming unbearable.

Jasper took a step forward and his body automatically pushed into a crouch.

Carlisle was by Jasper's side quickly, he placed his hand on Jasper's arm to calm him. He looked directly at the girl again.

"Have you changed your mind, young one?" He asked, his voice calm and even. "We don't want to destroy you, but we will if you can't control yourself."

"How can you _stand_ it?" she wailed unhappily, I knew Jasper was feeling the crux of her emotions, but he seemed to be handling it well. There were no vision of his reacting to her impulsive emotions, emotions that he sometimes fought so hard himself. "I _want_ her." her eyes focused on Bella, it wasn't hard to see who she was looking at, her crimson eyes stood out from her pale skin. Her fingers once again penetrated the ground beneath her in agony.

"You must stand it," Carlisle's authoritative voice was commanding, "You must exercise control. It is possible, and it is the only thing that will save you now."

The girl pulled her hands from the ground and pressed then into her temples, she looked deranged from the thirst that had taken control of her. She whined again.

"Shouldn't we move away from her?" Bella asked Edward quietly.

The girl reacted to Bella, I was beginning to wonder just how bad it was for this girl, she seemed tormented at the mere sound of Bella's voice. I raised my eyebrows at her as she bared her teeth. But my eyes were drawn away from the girl as the scent, sound and sight of the Volturi entered the clearing. The smoke was masking them well, but I could see the outline of their bodies as they strolled towards us casually. They were easy to sense, they seemed to exude an ominous feeling from them as they moved. I stepped closer to Bella and Edward, I was directly beside them now and the rest of the family moved around us. We needed to present a united front, we were strong as a family, but that's all we were, a family.

"Hmm," Jane's inert voice carried towards us, I could tell she wasn't excited to be here.

"Welcome, Jane." Edward offered, his hospitable offered was slightly marred with distaste.

Each of them emerged from the thick oily smoke in a cloak, Jane was east to spot, she was shorter than the rest and had the distinct honor of wearing the darker cloak, it was a sign of her superiority within the organization.

I recognized two of the guard, shrouded in the gray cloaks, at once. Felix and Demetri. Felix looked up and his hood slipped a little, he smiled at Bella and winked at her, Edward froze beside me, Bella looked unamused, she was encompassed by us, but I doubted she felt any less exposed.

'I don't understand." Jane stated after looking around the clearing at each of us, and then stopping at the whining newborn who now had her head in her hands.

"She has surrendered," Edward answered her unspoken question.

"Surrendered?" Jane asked, her gaze fixing on Edward. Behind her, Felix and Demetri exchanged a look.

"Carlisle gave her the option."

"There are no options for those who break the rules," Jane stated coldly.

"That's in your hands. As long as she was willing to halt her attack on us, I saw no need to destroy her. She was never taught." Carlisle offered his tone as even as always.

"That is irrelevant," Jane said, her words iron clad with their conviction.

"As you wish."

Jane stared at Carlisle with trepidation, she corrected herself and regained her composure.

"Aro hoped that we would get far enough west to see you, Carlisle. He sends his regards."

"I would appreciate it if you would convey mine to him." Carlisle offered graciously, nodding.

"Of course," Jane's cherub smile filled her features, it was beautiful but disturbing in so many ways. "It appears that you've done our work for us today . . . for the most part." Her smile fell a little and her eyes looked towards the girl on the ground. "Just out of professional curiosity, how many were there? They left quite a wake of destruction in Seattle."

"Eighteen, including this one." Carlisle answered simply.

Jane's well trained composure escaped her and her eyes grew large. Felix and Demetri held one another's gaze as they calculated the odds. Jane's eyes returned to the fire to reevaluate the magnitude of it.

"Eighteen?" she repeated, her voice sounding hesitant.

"All brand-new," Carlisle was nonchalant, "They were unskilled."

"All?" she asked, an edge to her tone. "Then who was their creator?"

"Her name was Victoria," Edward answered bleakly, his voice void of emotion.

"Was?" Jane asked.

Edward, rocked his head in the direction of the column of smoke that was rising in the distance. Jane's eyes focused on the direction Edward had motioned to and then back at the fire in front of her.

"This Victoria — she was in addition to the eighteen here?"

"Yes. She had only one other with her. He was not as young as this one here, but no older than a year." Edward answered.

"Twenty," Jane breathed. "Who dealt with the creator?"

"I did," Edward replied.

Jane turned on the girl by the fire, her eyes were mere slits. "You there," she commanded, her tones scorching like fire. "Your name."

The girl gazed up at Jane, her lips were pressed together as if she were refusing to speak.

Jane's serene and sugary sweet smile crossed her lips. I knew the smile well, I had seen it used before, on two of my family members. It was the smile she used to torture Edward when we were in Italy.

The girls blood curdling scream resounded through the clearing, her body arched and twitched as it curled in the pain, the unnatural positions her body conformed to made me cringe, the pain, I imagined, was unbearable. Behind me Jasper was cringing. He was feeling everything. I tried to send any other emotion towards him to save him from that torture. As soon as he felt it he stepped closer, the resulting emotion was disgust, but it was better than that of the girls.

Finally, the screaming of the tortured girl died away, and there was silence.

"Your name," Jane said again devoid of any emotion.

"Bree," the girls voice reflected the pain she'd just sustained.

Jane's smile returned and the girl began wailing again. Bella's stopped breathing, it was too much for her to watch.

"She'll tell you anything you want to know," Edward spoke through his locked jaw once the girl had stopped wailing, "You don't have to do that."

Jane looked up, her amusement was apparent. Her dark eyes twinkled with the fun she was having.

"Oh, I know," she grinned at Edward, before turning back to Bree.

"Bree," Jane said, regaining the icy edge to her tones. "Is his story true? Were there twenty of you?"

Bree's body was flat on the ground, her head was to the side and her cheek was pressed to the dirt. She answered quickly and obediently now. "Nineteen or twenty, maybe more, I don't know!" Her body tightened in the anticipation of Jane's anger, she was aware that the answer wouldn't be satisfactory to Jane. "Sara and the one whose name I don't know got in a fight on the way. . . ."

"And this Victoria — did she create you?"

'I don't know," She answered flinching again, "Riley never said her name. I didn't see that night . . . it was so dark, and it hurt . . ." Bree's body shuddered a little at the memory. "He didn't want us to be able to think of her. He said that our thoughts weren't safe. . . ."

That's how she was able to not be detected, that's how she stayed out of my visions, she would stay away from them, the only one with contact was this Riley. She was a lot more organized and conniving than I'd given her credit for. If she'd never have interfered on that mountain, if she hadn't of come across them, we'd of had no idea she'd been involved, and she would have probably started all over again.

Jane's eyes shot a quick glance to Edward.

"Tell me about Riley," Jane demanded, why did he bring you here?"

From her fear, Bree was quick to answer. She didn't want any more of Jane's punishments. They were too excruciating. "Riley told us that we had to destroy the strange yellow-eyes here, he said it would be easy. He said that the city was theirs, and they were coming to get us. He said once they were gone, all the blood would be ours. He gave us her scent." Bree lifted her arm and pointed a finger at Bella. "He said we would know that we had the right coven, because she would be with them. He said whoever got to her first could have her."

Edward stiffened at these words, I was glad that we'd taken care of this and that, with Bella's help, we'd finally seen what they were doing and when they were coming.

"It looks like Riley was wrong about the easy part," Jane taunted.

Bree simply nodded, she seemed to be letting her guard down a little, now that Jane had stopped causing her so much pain. She sat up, watching Jane for any sign of being reprimanded for the action. "I don't know what happened. We split up, but the others never came. And Riley left us, and he didn't come to help like he promised. And then it was so confusing, and everybody was in pieces, I was afraid. I wanted to run away. That one" — she pointed to Carlisle now — "Said they wouldn't hurt me if I stopped fighting."

"Ah, but that wasn't really his gift to offer, young one," Jane's voice took on a softer tone, the way you would normally speak with a young child who'd misbehaved. "Broken rules demand a consequence."

Bree's face was blank, she hadn't processed the sentence that had just been given to her.

Jane looked at Carlisle again. "Are you sure you got all of them? The other half that split off?"

Carlisle nodded, his composure never faltering. "We split up, too."

A bemused smile covered Jane's face. "I can't deny that I'm impressed." The guard that was behind her and had been stood silently let out a murmur of agreement. "I've never seen a coven escape this magnitude of offensive intact. Do you know what was behind it? It seems like extreme behavior, considering the way you live here. And why was the girl the key?" she gave a quick glance to Bella and the averted her eyes again.

"Victoria held a grudge against Bella." Edward explained.

Jane's childlike laugh filled the open space. "This one seems to bring out bizarrely strong reactions in our kind."

Jane turned on her smile, the devils smile, the smile that had tortured Bree. She was directing it at Bella. Edward froze on the spot. He looked to Bella and then back to Jane.

"Would you please not do that?" he asked, his voice tight.

Jane laughed, "Just checking. No harm done, apparently."

Bella shivered slightly behind Edward, it seemed the thought alone of Jane's power could disturb her. I had never been happier that she was so immune so some of the gifts we vampires seemed to possess.

"Well, it appears that there's not much left for us to do. Odd," Jane voice turned back into the bored drawl it had been. "We're not used to being rendered unnecessary. It's too bad we missed the fight. It sounds like it would have been entertaining to watch."

"Yes," Edward's voice was now sharp, "And you were so close. It's a shame you didn't arrive just a half hour earlier. Perhaps then you could have fulfilled your purpose here."

Jane and Edward's eyes met across the clearing, neither looked away.

"Yes. Quite a pity how things turned out, isn't it?"

Edward nodded once, he'd heard what he'd been digging for. He'd found what he wanted in her mind.

Jane looked toward Bree again, she looked desiccated. "Felix?" she offered.

"Wait." Edward said.

Jane cocked an eyebrow but Edward's gaze was on Carlisle. "We could explain the rules to the young one. She doesn't seem unwilling to learn. She didn't know what she was doing." Edward continued.

"Of course," Carlisle answered. "We would certainly be prepared to take responsibility for Bree."

Jane looked entirely bemused and bewildered, she couldn't believe we would be so willing to help a creature that had come to us with the pretense of destroying us. Our compassion confused her and amused her. It wasn't a surprise that she couldn't understand it though, she was living with the most monstrous of our kind, we couldn't expect anything more from her.

"We don't make exceptions," she stated with a finality. "And we don't give second chances. It's bad for our reputation. Which reminds me . . ." She glared directly at Bella again, "Caius will be _so_ interested to hear that you're still human, Bella. Perhaps he'll decide to visit."

"The date is set," I said clearly, I wanted her to relay the message, pass it on to those who had sent her. Nothing had changed in my visions and I wouldn't let them bully her into being changed, I wanted it to be her choice, and at the moment it still was. "Perhaps we'll come and visit you in a few months."

Jane's smiled dropped from her face at my words, never looking at me, she shrugged her shoulders as if it never really mattered to her. She looked to Carlisle instead.

"It was nice to meet you, Carlisle — I'd thought Aro was exaggerating. Well, until we meet again . . ."

Carlisle nodded, he looked upset, but we had to keep our composure. I was trying to find a way to keep this from Bella's I knew Felix would have fun destroying the girl, and Bella didn't need to see it. It was bad enough having to see Edward fight with Victoria and then the news of Jacob's injuries, I was wondering how much more this girl would have to endure in one morning.

"Take care of that, Felix." Jane commanded nodding at Bree who was sat on the floor looking dumbfounded, Jane simply looked completely bored and her voice reflected that emotion. "I want to go home."

Edward whispered for Bella to not look, it was quiet, so I knew that Jane and the guard would never have heard him, not that it would have made much of a difference if they had. Bella buried her head in Edwards chest, her eyes were scrunched shut.

Felix jumped into action, he pinned Bree to the ground and drug his teeth neatly along her throat, leaving a thick gaping gash. He pulled and without much effort her head was in his hands. He threw it into the fire and the expertly took apart her body. He gazed at Rosalie a couple of times, as her threw small bits of the girl into the fire, causing another thick wave of heavy purple smoke.

"Come," Jane spun on her heel and they marched the way they'd come, disappearing into the thick purple haze.

Collectively, we let out a sigh of relief.

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**A/N: I have to admit I'm not having much luck this week, but all should be back to normal by Sunday, so please be patient with me, I hate not having time to write. Writing relaxes me. I have made book covers for the stories, I was stuck at work and I needed a break, so I figured I would play around a little. I made one for each of the three stories. They are on my profile if you wanna check them out.  
**

**This story is coming to a close too quickly, I still have 36 days before Breaking Dawn so I will probably write another story. I have a little something I have been tinkering with. **

**thank you for the Faves and Alerts; and thanks to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS ROCK. BIG HUGS TILL NEXT TIME ;0D -L**

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	21. Chapter 21 Goodbye

_**All things Twilight belong to the awesome and talented Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 21 - Goodbye**

Now that everything was over we could relax, Bella was desperate to get to Jacob. We collectively ran back to the house, and as soon as we arrived Carlisle and Edward headed towards the Quileute reservation, Carlisle wanted to look at Jacob a little more closely now, he had been worried his bones would heal at the wrong angle. I took Bella inside the house with me, Edward would call as soon as Charlie had left.

The whole situation was strange to me, I knew how Bella felt about both Edward and Jacob, I also knew what she'd decided, what confused me was how torn she was, she seemed broken apart, torn. She had always been so consistent that I knew once she made a decision it was practically set in stone, but for the first time since I'd met her, she seemed thoroughly confounded.

We sat in relative silence waiting for Edward's call. Bella was frantic with worry, and I knew she blamed herself for his injuries, like she always did. I watched her as she sat on the couch, her legs pulled up to her chest. Her eyes were blank, she was far away in thought. She was dwelling on what had happened and the decision she had made, I could see the guilt written across her face. I needed to know how she was doing.

I stood up and motioned for Jasper to follow me. We headed to the back of the house, out of Bella's earshot. Jasper looked as confused as I felt. We looked at one another for a long while, understanding flowing between us as our eyes lingered, gazing in to the pure liquid gold that coated our eyes.

"How's she doing?" I asked keeping my voice low so she wouldn't hear the conversation.

"She's in pain, I wish I could describe it in words." Jasper said looking a little uncomfortable, "She's so conflicted it's almost painful."

"Can you show me?" I asked, a little nervous about how he would react. He hated obliging me when it can to showing me others emotions. I could understand his hesitance, he believed wholeheartedly in respecting others privacy.

I was surprised when he nodded and picked up my hands, he drew in a long breath and stared deeply into my eyes. I was immediately overcome with a plethora of emotions. Confusion, pain, guilt, anger, hurt, worry, the barrage of emotions were endless. I broke my contact with Jasper and shuddered. It was hard to believe someone felt all of those things at once. She'd made her decision, I knew that, but I didn't think of the residual emotions she would be left to deal with.

I looked up into Jasper's face, his eyes were full of concern, I threw my arms around his waist and let my body shake with the sobs that would never produce tears. The emotions had left me so confused and hurt, I had broken contact after such a short time but it had taken a hold of me and pulled me under the depths. Jasper rubbed my back gently and buried his face in my hair. We stood like this for a while, in silence, just holding one another.

"That was terrible," I sighed pulling myself tighter into Jasper's chest.

"That was actually pleasant compared to Edward's emotions when we left in September, and if you say Bella's emotions seemed to be similar to his, then this is just a blip on her emotion scale, if fact a different type of pain altogether."

"I should go to her," I sighed after regaining my composure.

Jasper simply nodded and planted a kiss on the top of my head. I stepped away from him giving him a thanking smile before heading to where I had left Bella on the couch. Her eyes moved to me as I entered the room. I simply shook my head. I knew what she wanted, she was waiting for the call.

I moved to the couch and sat next to her quietly, I looked in her large brown eyes that were filled will sadness and worry. Without saying a word I opened my arms to hold her and give her some of support I was sure she needed. She fell towards me, her head on my shoulder, then she cried, there were no words to say as her body shuddered with the sobs her body had released. I wrapped my arms a little tighter, conscious of my strength, and I let her cry. Her tears and sobs lasted for a while before they slowly subsided, I rubbed her arm gently trying to give her the only thing I had to give at that moment, understanding and support.

Bella and I sat together silently, I didn't feel the need to ease her with pointless words, I hoped my actions had said everything. I kept my arms around her and let her catch her breath. When my phone finally vibrated in my pocket I jumped for it, just as eager as Bella was.

"Edward,"

"Alice," his voice was somber, but I understood the context. I needed to speak with him, but I knew that now wasn't the time.

"Would you bring Bella down when you can, Charlie just left."

"Will do." I stated simply.

"Thanks, Alice."

'Okay," I flipped the phone shut and smiled weakly at Bella. "Your Dad's gone home, I can take you down there whenever you're ready."

Bella nodded and I released her from my grip stood up, she stood with me, she looked so tired and emotionally drawn I wasn't past keeping her here and putting her back to bed, but i knew I would have a fight on my hands so I motioned to the door and we headed out in silence.

The drive down to La Push was silent, my body tensed as we crossed the treaty line, I had never been past it before and it seemed to turn my stomach into odd little knots, there had always seemed like there was an invisible wall to all those of us who lived by it. Bella pointed at the corners I needed to take through the small town and I pulled to a stop outside a small red house. Some of the pack members were stood around outside looking nervous, but Bella simply jumped out of the Volvo and headed towards the house.

Edward was outside before she got to the door, he spoke with her briefly and she nodded walking past him into the house. He headed towards the Volvo. Some of the pack outside backed away cautiously. I rolled down the window as he headed towards the drivers side door.

'Hey, Alice." his face matched his somber tones.

"Edward,"

"Thanks for driving her down here."

"I don't mind, glad I could help." I said offering a weak smile.

"Do you mind sticking around, Charlie was talking about getting back before Bella. I think he's expecting her home soon."

I looked at the clock on the dash it was closing in on four o'clock.

"Sure, I bought some new things for her online and I put them into some old bags I had from my last shopping trip so she has some evidence."

Edward cracked a small, but brief smile, "You think of everything, don't you."

"I try," I said returning the smile.

"Okay, I'll send her out in a little while."

I nodded and watched as he jogged slowly towards the house. He was keeping his speed low so he wouldn't make the wolves any more nervous than they already were, they had consented to us being here, but i was sure that they weren't particularly happy about it.

I sat in the car waiting for Bella, I watched the small community as they walked around and interacted, each member looked as worried as the next. They were close and I couldn't help identifying with them a little. They were a large family, just like we were, they loved one another and cared what happened. We weren't so different, but I understood that the differences really laid where we were different from other vampires. If we drank from humans there would be no treaty, we would be the epitome of what they hated.

A small vision appeared to me, Charlie had seen Edward and Carlisle at the reservation and was beginning to get suspicious as to why Bella wasn't home sooner. He was trying to decide whether or not to drive to our house or to call. I pulled out my cell phone to call Edward. I let it ring and then hung up, he'd know what it meant, and I was sure he would have seen what I had in my vision.

I had left the window to the Volvo open, the sea air seemed to drown out the smell of wet dog. One of the younger wolves approached the car slowly, he seemed less cautious than the others, a little more willing to trust us. He stopped about two feet away from the window and grinned.

"Alice, right?" he asked, his voice was full of excitement, his pack mates were eyeing him strangely.

I simply nodded in response.

"Edward sent me, I was inside with them. He said to tell you Bella will be out in five minutes, and thank you for waiting."

"Thanks for letting me know . . ." I said before really looking at him, but then his smiling face caught my gaze, it was friendly. "Were you up on the mountain with Bella and Edward?" I asked smiling at the guys eagerness, it was infectious.

He nodded. "Yeah, that was me."

"What's your name?" I asked, I thought I knew it but I didn't want to offend him.

"Seth."

"I heard you took down one of the vampires up there." I said trying not to sound condescending. I knew that it would've been a little more difficult seeing as Riley was slightly more trained than the rest of them.

Seth's chest swelled with pride, and he simply nodded.

"Thank you," I offered sincerely, "If you hadn't of been there, Edward would of had to fight both of them, and they could have easily killed Bella. You saved her life."

Seth smiled largely, and he took a step closer. His smile faded and he looked around at the rest of the pack. They'd stopped paying attention to him now. His eyes locked with mine, they were full of curiosity. "Is it true you can see the future?"

I laughed lightly, "It's a little more complex than that, but in essence, yes I can."

"That's awesome, but you can't see mine?"

I shook my head, but held my smile. I didn't want it to seem like I was bitter about it, because I wasn't. It just became frustrating when our paths crossed.

"Why?" he asked watching me curiously, "I mean, is there a reason you can't see us, is it because we're supposed to be enemies?"

"We're not sure, but Carlisle thinks it's something to do with your phasing."

"Seth," a girls voice called from the house, she was most definitely the one wolf female, Leah.

"I have to go. It was nice talking to you, Alice." he sighed looking at the girl.

"Bye, Seth." Seth jogged towards Leah, who was stood with her hands on her hips looking upset. I watched as they appeared to argue with one another, I purposely avoided listening to them, knowing exactly what they were disagreeing about.

The door to the house opened and Bella and Edward appeared. Bella looked upset about having to leave, but she held on to Edward with such desperation I had to look away. The passenger side door opened but when I looked towards it I could only see Bella and Edward embracing.

Without a word Bella climbed into the car, Edward crouched and looked across her at me. I could see everything he wanted to ask, I nodded and averted my eyes to let them say goodbye.

"I'll see you later." Edward stated simply.

"Do you promise?" Bella asked, her voice cracking a little.

"Bella,' Edward sighed, "Stop being silly, call me when you're ready to see me, and I'll be there. I promise."

Bella nodded and hung her head to look at her hands, Edward's fingers were immediately under her chin and lifting her face. They looked at one another and then kissed briefly.

"Bye,' Edward said standing.

"Bye," Bella whispered.

Edward stepped back and pushed the door closed. I placed the car in reverse and backed out slowly. We were silent for most of the drive, Bella was lost in her thoughts. I hummed quietly to myself, this was a bad day but things were shaping up. Bella would be okay, I knew from what I had seen in my visions. I pulled into the garage and opened my door slowly.

"Alice?" Bella whispered quietly.

"Yes, Bella?"

"Thank you, for earlier."

I smiled, "You're Welcome. Come on, lets get you presentable to go home to Charlie."

Bella groaned and pushed her door open and climbed out. I waited for her by the door and I then guided her to my room.

"Put that on." I ordered throwing a dress at Bella. She sighed and headed towards the bathroom. I was surprised there was no arguing. "You're overnight bag is in there if you want to take a shower." I offered.

Bella smiled weakly at me and pulled the door closed behind her. I sat on the bed and waited for her to reappear. I started looking into her future again and I still saw what I had always seen, in fact, it was a little stronger than it had been, Bella would become a vampire, and she would marry my brother. There was no doubts about it.

She appeared from the bathroom a little while later in the dress, she still seemed preoccupied so I took her back in the bathroom and began drying her hair, once her hair was dry I just drug the brush through her hair slowly, hoping in some small way it was soothing to her.

"That's enough, Alice," she said quietly and her voice was practically monotonous. "I want to go back to La Push."

"Jacob's still unconscious," I told her quietly, I knew she was having a hard time but she needed to keep up the carefully played out charade for Charlie. "Carlisle or Edward will call when he's awake. Anyway, you need to go see Charlie. He was there at Billy's house, he saw that Carlisle and Edward are back in from their trip, and he's bound to be suspicious when you get home."

"I don't care." Bella sighed with exaggeration. "I want to be there when Jacob wakes up."

'You need to think of Charlie now. You've had a long day — sorry, I know that doesn't even begin to cover it — but that doesn't mean you can shirk your responsibilities." I said with a little bit too much reprehension, "It's more important now than ever that Charlie stays safely in the dark. Play your role first, Bella, and then you can do what you want second. Part of being a Cullen is being meticulously responsible."

Bella sat thinking quietly, her brow furrowed in her concentration.

"Go home," I ordered, "talk to Charlie. Flesh out your alibi. Keep him safe."

I knew I was using Charlie as a bargaining chip at this point, but it was all I had. Charlie was still trying to decide what had happened at the reservation earlier in the morning. The noise and Billy's actions had confused him. If he was to ever find out about any of this, he would be in danger of the Volturi finding him. At this point there wasn't a huge chance of that, but I needed Bella to go home to him first, and this was the only way to push her into doing that.

Bella stood slowly and the dress fell around her she looked beautiful.

"That dress is adorable on you," I said unable to hold back my excitement at being a fashion genius.

"Huh? Oh. Er — thanks again for the clothes." Bella mumbled.

"You need the evidence," I told her happily, trying to brighten the mood a little "what's a shopping trip without a new outfit? It's very flattering, if I do say so myself."

Bella looked completely confused again and her eyes reflected her mind in process. This was pitiful.

"Jacob is fine, Bella, there's no hurry. If you realized how much extra morphine Carlisle had to give him — what with his temperature burning it off so quickly — you would know that he's going to be out for a while."

Bella still stood there silently, I had to try something to get her to talk to me, if I sent her home like this it would only make things worse.

"Is there anything you want to talk about before you leave?" I asked "You must be more than a little traumatized."

"Will I be like that?" Bella asked her voice subdued. "Like that girl Bree in the meadow?"

Her question took me a little off guard, I hadn't been expecting it. I was sure she would want to discuss what happened on the mountain, but if this was her topic of choice, I would gladly go with it, as long as she was talking. I stoked her arm gently.

"Everyone is different. But something like that, yes."

Bella's eyes grew and her face paled slightly.

"It passes," I promised.

"How soon?" she asked bleakly.

I shrugged my shoulders a little, "A few years. It might be different for you. I've never seen anyone go through this who's chosen it beforehand. It should be interesting to see how it affects you."

"Interesting,"

"We'll keep you out of trouble," I promised, I hoped she knew that we wouldn't let her do anything that she would regret.

"I know that. I trust you." her tone was monotonous.

I frowned at her lack of, well, anything. "If you're worried about Carlisle and Edward, I'm sure they'll be fine. I believe Sam is beginning to trust us . . . well, to trust Carlisle, at least. It's a good thing, too. I imagine the atmosphere got a little tense when Carlisle had to rebreak the fractures —"

"Please, Alice."

"Sorry." I continued to forget how fragile she was. I should have realized the thought of Carlisle having to rebreak the bones that had healed wrong in the sped up process would make her uncomfortable. Bella sighed heavily and I could hear a little shakiness in the sound.

"Alice, can I ask you a question? About the future?"

"You know I don't see everything." I offered, I had no idea what she wanted to ask, but I wasn't a prophet. I couldn't give her the future she should chose, she had to go with her heart, and I would see the rest.

"It's not that, exactly. But you _do_ see my future, sometimes. Why is that, do you think, when nothing else works on me? Not what Jane can do, or Edward, or Aro . . ." She trailed off into silence, as though she wanted to know the answer but was unsure if it would be the right answer. It was an interesting question. It was one that I had discussed at length with Carlisle and Jasper.

"Jasper, too, Bella — his talent works on your body just as well as it does on anyone else's. That's the difference, do you see it? Jasper's abilities affect the body physically. He really does calm your system down, or excite it. It's not an illusion. And I see visions of outcomes, not the reasons and thoughts behind the decisions that create them. It's outside the mind, not an illusion, either; reality, or at least one version of it. But Jane and Edward and Aro and Demetri — they work _inside_ the mind. Jane only creates the illusion of pain. She doesn't really hurt your body, you only think you feel it. You see, Bella? You are safe inside your mind. No one can reach you there. It's no wonder that Aro was so curious about your future abilities."

Bella stared at me blankly but nodded her head, I was sure it was because she thought I wanted her to understand, so she was trying to placate me. I knew where her mind was and I had to let her go where she needed to, in order to follow her chosen path, she had to hurt someone she loved. This was the reason she wanted to go to La Push so desperately, she wanted to make sure Jacob was alright, she wanted to make sure she made the right decision, and if she had — she wanted to make everything how it should be, she would tell Jacob her decision.

I stroked her cheek gently, trying to bring her out of her thoughts. "He's going to be okay, Bella." I said meaning in health, and after she told him her decision. "I don't need a vision to know that. Are you ready to go?"

"One more thing." she asked quietly. "Can I ask you another question about the future? I don't want specifics, just an overview."

"I'll do my best," I told her.

"Can you still see me becoming a vampire?"

"Oh, that's easy. Sure, I do."

Bella nodded at the answer. It seemed like she was confirming her hearts desire. It made me a little uneasy that she hadn't known the answer in her own mind. I couldn't understand why she would ask me.

"Don't you know your own mind, Bella?"

"I do. I just wanted to be sure."

"I'm only as sure as you are, Bella. You know that. If you were to change your mind, what I see would change . . . or disappear, in your case." I offered her a small reassuring smile.

Bella sighed. "That isn't going to happen, though."

I placed my arms around her, I was sure this was a difficult thing to do. "I'm sorry. I can't really _empathize_. My first memory is of seeing Jasper's face in my future; I always knew that he was where my life was headed. But I can _sympathize_. I'm so sorry you have to choose between two good things."

Bella shrugged out of my arms and a deep sadness filled her eyes. "Don't feel sorry for me."

She blamed herself for what was happening, she blamed herself for falling in love.

"I'll go deal with Charlie." She added and headed towards my bedroom where her things were waiting. I watched her as she threw her things together and followed her downstairs with the shopping bags I'd put together for her. I placed them in the passenger side of the truck and walked to the drivers side.

"Call me if you need anything, Bella. Anything at all." I said smiling weakly.

Bella nodded and fired up her loud truck I watched her disappear down the path to the main road and turned to head back inside. Jasper greeted me as soon as I walked through the door. He wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled his head into my neck.

"Mmm, that's nice." I giggled.

Jasper kissed my neck and then pulled back to look at me.

"How's Bella doing?"

"Okay, I think. This is hard for her, she knows what she wants but it's hard for her to say goodbye."

"Goodbyes are always hard."

"Yes, but it still amazes me that she was able to fall in love with two people, two completely different people."

"Each of them represent a part of her, Alice. You think about what she's about to do, what she's been through. When Edward left, this guy was the one who tried to help her put it back together . . . Edward was the one who came up with that, we spoke one night. . ." Jasper said reacting to my raised eyebrows. "Anyway, there was always going to be something between them. And then after all of this she wants to become a vampire, I'm sure leaving behind her best friend, who happens to be a werewolf, her new natural enemy, has to put strain in her decision."

"Well after this is done it will become easier for her, she's made the decision to try and stay away from him. It was difficult when she didn't know how she really felt about him, but now it'll just be unfair to both Edward and Jacob, to continue to be friends. I can't say I envy her, this was probably one of the most difficult decisions she's ever had to make." I sighed, rubbing my hands up and down Jasper's sides.

"Does Edward know her decision?"

"Partially, I'm not sure he was really listening, and so much has happened since then. I want to talk to him when he comes home."

Jasper nodded and kissed my head again. "I'm going to work on my philosophy, you know where I am if you want to talk."

I nodded and watched him disappear up the stairs. I walked towards the living room to wait for Edward. I was sure he wouldn't be much longer.

After twenty minutes of waiting, I saw them as they got further from the wolves. I had been sitting still longer than I liked to when Carlisle and Edward strolled into the house, they stank of wet dog, but it was to be expected.

"Hey Carlisle, Edward." I said standing up and heading towards them.

"Hello, Alice. I'm going to go and change, I smell terrible." laughed Carlisle jogging up the stairs. Edward moved to follow him, there was no hint of humor in his face. He didn't know what was going to happen, even after I had reassured him in the clearing.

"Edward, can I have a word?" I asked.

"I'll be right down after I change." he said without looking at me.

"Okay, but I really would like to talk to you, and I have a feeling Bella will need you soon, so if you could hurry, I would appreciate it."

Edward spun on the stairs, "What do you mean Bella's going to need me? What did you see?"

"Calm down, it's nothing dangerous. Just go change."

Edward disappeared up the stairs and was back down in front of me with wet hair and clean clothes on within mere minutes.

"Okay, what did you want to talk about?" he asked, his expression ominous.

"Bella."

"What about Bella?" Edward asked, a slight hurt disappointment lacing his voice.

"I just wanted to reiterate what I told you earlier, but I want to know you hear me this time. She chose you Edward, I saw it all, nothing has changed in my visions, it's all there, the wedding, the transformation. Nothing that happened up on that mountain has changed a thing, she loves you more than she thought she was able to. She made another decision, she's telling Jacob this, today. She's planning on telling him that her love for him changes nothing because she can't and won't live without you. You need to help her through this and be understanding. She's on her way to La Push now"

Edward walked towards the couch and sat down, his head in his hands. He ran his hands up his face and through his hair.

"What if he's what's best for her? He can give her so much more than I can."

"Like what?" I asked, Bella and Edward were so perfect for one another, I couldn't imagine it working out any other way.

"Children, Alice!"

I sighed and sat next to him on the couch. "Do you honestly believe she hasn't thought about that?"

Edward closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. "I know she has, but she's eighteen, what if in ten years she regrets all of this, and ends up resenting me."

"Edward, you have made your feelings on her transformation perfectly clear, she can never hold this against you, even if you are the one to change her. With that being said you know her better than that, she would never blame you, this has been her decision from the start. It's what she's wanted. Blaming someone else has never been her style, she thinks things through before committing to them."

"I know, Alice, but I want so much more for her."

"But you _are_ what she wants, Edward. Why can't you accept that? You are the one thing that makes her happy, she lives for you now."

"Alice," Edward started, but I put up my hand refusing to let him once again talk himself out of being with her.

"No, Edward, you have to let her make this decision for herself, you need to support her, you need to show her you love her, she knows it already but this whole mess has been harder on her than you realize. For a while it was ripping her apart."

"What was ripping her apart?"

"For crying out loud, Edward. Am I speaking Swahili here? Saying goodbye to Jacob! She knows they can't be friends, but he is a part of her life so saying goodbye is hard for her."

Edward and I sat in companionable silence as he thought through my words, he could be so blind and I didn't want a repeat of Bella's birthday, it had almost destroyed them both and I wouldn't sit back and watch them make a mistake like that again.

Sitting in silence and thinking of Edward and Bella, seemed to open up the attuned bridge in my vision. I saw Bella driving down the road crying hard, and then pulling to the side of the road, Edward didn't have much time to get to her.

"Go, Edward." I whispered.

Edward looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.

"She said what she needed to say, but she's going to be crying on the side of the road, distraught. She needs you, so go to her." I said smiling.

Edward smiled and kissed me on the forehead. "Thanks, Alice."

"Go," was all I said in return and Edward took off through the door at top speed.

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**A/N: Woo hoo, My schedule is finally back to normal and I can give my writing my undivided attention, shame there not much left to this story I seemed to have condensed it down to less chapters than the others. ;0P -The connection between my email and fanfiction was out of whack this weekend so I apologize if it seemed funky or you didn't get an alert for the last chapter. Weird stuff!**

**Thank you for the Alert and Faves, and to the REVIEWERS . . . YOU GUYS SERIOUSLY ROCK . . . I am coming up with some ideas for my next fanfiction, and I hope you awesome people will read it ;0) . . . there are still 34 days till Breaking dawn so I need something to do.**

_**Big Hugs to everybody, thank you for reading.**_


	22. Chapter 22 Planning

_**All things Twilight belong to the Talented Stephenie Meyer.**_

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**Chapter 22 - Planning**

"That was a nice thing to do, Alice." Esme said as she appeared from the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Esme, I didn't know you were in there."

"I was checking on the Roses, bugs seemed to have infiltrated them, I walked in on the conversation and didn't want to interrupt."

"Oh, it's fine. I could have probably used your help, he can be so blind sometimes."

"He's in love for first time, Alice. This is all so new to him, he's so afraid of losing her, but he's also afraid of hurting her. Our kind loves so much stronger than the human race." she sighed and stroked my face gently.

"I know, but I hate that he doubts himself sometimes," I sighed.

"Edward, has been a solitary creature for so long, Alice. Now he has someone to worry about, another part of himself to please. You know how that is, your actions always involve Jasper in some way. I know you can't ever remember being without him, but it's different being single and only having to worry about yourself. The transition can be quite a struggle."

"Thanks Esme," I said smiling at her.

"What ever for, Alice?"

"Helping me understand, all I've ever known is Jasper. I couldn't imagine my life without him."

"You're lucky then." she laughed.

"I do believe I am." I said widening my eyes happily, "Maybe I should go and find him, and let him know how much I appreciate him."

"Alice," Esme scolded but laughed.

"Esme, I didn't mean it like that." I rolled my eyes and headed out of the room towards my bedroom.

The room was quiet except for the tapping on the keyboard, I pushed the door open slowly and stepped in, I made my way quietly to the bed and sat down. I silently watched Jasper work, he knew I was there but he was deep in concentration, and I hated to disturb him.

I let my vision roll in and out, Bella was in a bad state, she was now curled up in Edward's arms, crying her heart out. Like I'd told her, all I had ever known was Jasper, he was all I wanted to know. I would never have to deal with being in love with two people. I was sure she felt like she was losing a part of herself.

Jasper was my other half, the only thing that kept me together. Losing him would kill me. I had judged Edward so harshly when he'd disappeared to Italy. I thought he was being a fool, but I had been with Bella, spoken to her. When I'd thought she had jumped, I had been torn apart, and she was my friend, my sister. If I had replaced Bella with Jasper in that scenario, how would I have reacted, I shuddered at the thought of it, but I would put money on me doing precisely the same thing, I would look for a way to end it, the misery and heartache would be too much to bear.

I could feel the panic rising in my chest at the thought of it alone, before I knew it Jasper was at my side holding me.

"Hey, Alice. Breathe baby."

I took deep breaths and waited for the panic to subside. "Sorry," I whispered quietly as I threw my arms around him and pulled myself as close to him as I could get.

"What happened? It felt like you were having a panic attack over here."

I laughed gingerly. "I wasn't aware I could have one, can vampires have panic attacks?"

"It would appear so." Jasper laughed smoothing my hair gently. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I was seeing how in pain Bella was, and I was trying to put myself in her shoes, trying to understand how she was feeling. I know that she loves them both, I also know she loves Edward more than words can describe. I tried to put myself in her shoes, but all I could think about was what I would do if I ever lost you, and then my imagination took off with the what if's, and quite frankly, I decided I was too hard on Edward, I couldn't live on without you by my side Jasper, none of it would be worth it . . ." I was slowly losing my control again and Jasper sent a steady wash of serenity over me, bringing me back to my tranquil state.

"Sweetheart, you can't think through all the what if's, you have something more concrete than that, any decision I make, you know the outcome. I can't let you suffer over this, you know I feel the same way if anything was to ever happen to you, but if we dwell on it, it will drive us crazy."

"Ha ha!" I laughed sarcastically and smiled.

Jasper smiled and placed his forehead against mine. "I love you, Alice, more than I ever thought was possible. You came to me when I had given up hope, you became my world the day I met you, nothing will ever take that away. But you have to promise me, if something should ever happen to me, you will go on, you have to."

"Jasper, I can't make you a promise that I know I could never keep." I said sighing.

"Fine," Jasper laughed feigning impatience, "then I'm never going to die."

"Good plan," I laughed snuggling into his chest.

The rest of the night we lay in one another's arms, there was no sexual undertone, just a need to be with one another, the conversation we had brought us closer, we could be close enough to one another, he traced my face gently with his fingers as I memorized his face again. I was lucky enough to have this man for eternity. He was all I ever wanted, all I ever needed, and nothing would ever change that.

The morning came to us slowly and for the first time in almost twenty years I was glad time was moving slowly, so much had happened in such a short space of time it was nice to finally ease back into the everyday routine.

There was a light knock at the door, as the light began filling the room, I hadn't realized how long we'd been laying down.

"Come in." I said contentedly.

Rosalie pushed the door open a little and stepped in.

"Sorry to disturb you, I just wanted to borrow your boots, Emmett and I are going to head down to Seattle, now that there's no danger, we're going to have a night out."

"Go for it." I smiled at her happily. Things really were finally getting back to normal.

I was struck with a vision as Rosalie walked into my closet, it was the strongest I had seen in a while, but it was mainly because it involved me. Bella wanted to see me, she was going to let me plan her wedding, with a few rules, of course. I sat up and looked over at Jasper I could feel the size of t he grin in my face.

"What?" He asked, returning my smile, it must have been infectious.

"Bella and Edward are coming." I said bouncing to my knees, "To speak to me, Bella's letting me plan her wedding, it has to be done by August thirteenth, she has veto power on the guest list, and I can't go overboard."

Jasper rolled his eyes but his smile stayed in place, I bounced on the bed again, and Rosalie passed through the room, boots in hand.

"She's lucky, you've done wonderfully for my weddings." she sighed as she passed through.

I hopped off the bed and ran to the bathroom, they would be heading over here soon and I had to get ready.

As soon as I was out of the shower, I headed down the stairs and leaped off the front porch and paced, they would be here any minute. I never stopped moving, even as the truck came into view, but I didn't want to jump at them in my excitement so I tried to contain it the best I could.

"Thank you, Bella!" I sang as she got out of the truck, she hadn't officially told me, but she knew I'd seen it, and she wouldn't mind that I jumped the gun a little. My head was exploding with ideas, it wouldn't be too big, but it would be classy chic, Bella would look gorgeous in the dress, but I would never tell her where it came from.

"Hold it, Alice," she lifted her hand up to tell me the rules, "I have a few limitations for you."

"I know, I know, I know. I only have until August Thirteenth at the latest, you have veto power on the guest list, and if I go overboard on anything, you'll never speak to me again." I said finishing with a grin. My mind was filled with canapes, guest lists, color schemes and tuxedo designs, I was having to work through the visions as I spoke.

"Oh, okay, well, yeah. You know the rules then."

"Don't worry, Bella, it will be perfect, Do you want to see your dress?" I asked hoping that she wouldn't be too upset, I'd already picked out a fake designer, she would never know all of my involvement. I was sure that would be pushing it too far, especially seeing as they weren't together at the time, and Edward had almost killed himself, since I had designed it.

Bella's eyes grew wide and then they narrowed in one swift movement. Her face finally settled on normal.

"Sure."

I smiled at her, I knew she would like it, well I was almost one hundred percent sure.

"Um, Alice," Bella asked, trying to keep her voice casual. "When did you get me a dress?"

I held my smile and headed up the porch steps and into the house, leading them to the stairs. "These things take time, Bella," I said dancing around the subject, hoping I didn't making things obvious, no matter what happened I was sticking to my plan, after all that had happened in the last couple of months, I wouldn't throw it back in their faces and tell them that I knew all along that they would marry. It would just upset Bella. "I mean, I wasn't _sure_ things were going to turn out this way, but there was a distinct possibility. . . ."

"When?" Bella persisted.

"Pierre Bruyere has a waiting list, you know," I said in my own defense, I knew she would be suspicious, but even with the waiting list I had knock a month or two off the actual time frame, it was now within the realm of them making up. "Fabric masterpieces don't happen overnight. If I hadn't thought ahead, you'd be wearing something off the rack!"

"Per — who?" Bella asked her eyes still suspicious.

"He's not a major designer, Bella, so there's no need to throw a hissy fit. He's got promise, and he specializes in what I needed."

"I'm not throwing a fit." Bella said a little too calmly.

"No, you're not," I said eyeing her suspiciously, we were in my room now, and Jasper had evacuated before the planning started, I was sure he was seeking solace in Carlisle's study, his laptop was gone. I turned on Edward.

"You — out."

"Why?" Bella demanded.

"Bella," I was hoping she would give me some cooperation, I let out a small groan for emphasis. "You know the rules. He's not supposed to see the dress till the day of."

Bella drew in a large breath and eyed my curiously, I was sure she was calculating the odds of me relenting, if she'd of asked I would have told her slim to none.

'It doesn't matter to me. And you know he's already seen it in your head. But if that's how you want it. . . ."

I shoved Edward out the door now and closed the door on him, his eyes never left Bella and they were still brimming with concern. I was beginning to wonder if he would ever realize how much this girl loved him. I let the door shut with a click and turned back to Bella.

"All right," I muttered, "C'mon."

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my closet, I had a rack dedicated to the dress, everybody had been forbidden to touch it. After we'd gotten back from hunting the night Edward proposed to Bella, Esme had realized what the dress was for, she hadn't reprimanded me, or even been upset. She was happy and touched that my belief in them as a couple had been so strong, that I'd never lost hope of them being together.

I unzipped the garment bag that protected the dress from the outside world, and pulled it away from the dress, I stepped back and held my hands out to showcase my genius. Bella looked at it carefully.

"Well?" I asked, breathless in the anticipation.

Bella stood staring at it, her head bobbing from side to side as she took in every angle, I felt myself getting nervous. Had I been wrong about her taste, had I assumed that she would like it. I could feel the anticipation building, I was preparing myself for disappointment.

"Ah," Bella said slowly and smiled, my entire body sighed in relief. "I see."

'What do you think?" I demanded now, her smile had told me that it was okay, not that she liked it, I needed more of a confirmation than 'I see." The suspense was killing me.

"It's perfect, of Course. Exactly right. You're a genius."

I grinned happily, she'd finally realized, "I know," I said. Fashion was my thing, it was what I was good at, I had book smarts but not enough attention to commit to anything, shopping was a talent I reveled in.

"Nineteen-Eighteen?" Bella guessed.

"More or less," I agreed nodding, it had been my inspiration as I had designed it, I had done some research on wedding dresses, the modern dresses were entirely too low cut, Bella wasn't going to agree to that, so I had found some vintage pictures and designed something with a modern twist, something that would fit her perfectly, something she would love, something Edward would adore. "Some of it is _my_ design, the train, the veil. . . ." I touched the fabric lightly, Bella would never know how much of my heart and soul had gone into the design. "The lace is vintage, do you like it?"

"It's beautiful. It's just right for him."

"But is it just right for you?" I asked pushing her for honesty. I was hoping she wasn't agreeing to be simply polite, this was her day, I wanted it to be perfect.

"Yes, I think it is, Alice. I think it's just what I need. I know you'll do a great job with this . . . if you can keep yourself in check."

I smiled happily, she was giving me a compliment, and I took it for what it was. She was finally going to become my sister.

"Can I see your dress?" Bella asked.

I stopped, and blinked in disbelief. I wasn't sure what she was asking and I hated to assume.

"Didn't you order a bridesmaid dress at the same time? I wouldn't want my maid of honor to wear something off the _rack_." Bella's face contorted with mock horror.

My heart exploded in joy and I couldn't contain my happiness, I threw my arms around her waist, I was trying to contain the happiness as I hugged her. "Thank you, Bella!"

"How could you not see that one coming?" Bella teased playfully, she kissed the top of my head gently. "Some psychic you are!"

I hopped back after relinquishing my grip on her waist, I could only imagine the happy grin I was wearing, but I had to get to work, August wasn't that far away, and I had so much to do.

"I've got so much to do!" I voiced my thoughts, "Go and play with Edward. I have to get to work."

I ran past her and pulled my door open, Edward stood looking concerned and bemused behind it, but I didn't have time to reprimand him at the moment. I had to speak with Esme.

"Esme!" I yelled as I bridged the top of the stairs. She appeared at the bottom looking bewildered at the volume I was using.

"Alice, what on earth?"

"We have a wedding to plan, do you want to help me?"

Esme's smile could have dazzled the entire Navy, she would be more than happy to help, her oldest son was finally getting married to the woman he loved. Our family would be complete.

* * *

**A/N: So that's Eclipse from Alice's perspective, I hope this last chapter didn't disappoint anybody, I hope I am able to write Breaking Dawn in her perspective, and I hope I see you all when I do. I am working on a what if scenario, the preface is up if your interested ;0)**

**Thank you to everyone who has commented on these stories, you guys seriously rock. Thank you for helping me when I got stuck too or if I forgot something. Alice is my fave character and I'm really gonna miss her for the month until breaking Dawn is released. Anyway I sincerely hope you enjoyed this.**

**BIG HUGS GUYS**


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